Guardian
by NaruDeeds
Summary: Naruto is a powerful Guardian, and Sakura is his charge.  See what happens as Naruto protects Sakura as the duo walks toward her destiny. My first entirely AU fic.  Powerful Naruto.
1. Her Dream

ALL RIGHT! Welcome to my first entirely AU fic. This one will probably be updated a little slower than "A Jinchuriki's Husk" was, but I'm still planning on at least weekly updates. This could potentially be a long fic (aka more than 10 chapters) and like "A Jinchuriki's Husk" my target word count for each chapter is 5,000 words. So... thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or else I would be filthy stinking rich and would use some of money to fund research into reviving the dodo bird.

Please do enjoy the opening chapter of "Guardian"- Her Dream

* * *

A blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy with strange whisker marks on his cheeks stood in front of a panel of stern looking men. The boy stared up at the panel with a face devoid of fear. Just looking into his sapphire eyes one could see his strength, and one could see that the boy was no stranger to a fight. His eyes were strong, like those of a wolf.

"Naruto," called the head member of the panel. "Congratulations. You have successfully completed your training, you are now officially a guardian. Are you prepared to receive your charge?"

"Hai." The boy known as Naruto calmly replied.

"Naruto, from this day forth, you are a guardian. Your charge's life is vastly more important than your own. From this day forth, you shed any hopes and dreams of a future. From this day forth you dedicate your life, and use your power to ensure that your charge survives. Congratulations." The man dictated.

"Arigato." Was Naruto's only response.

"You are to proceed to the Charge's Hall to get information on your charge. Once you have information, you will leave immediately to find and protect him or her. Dismissed."

The blonde-haired boy simply nodded, and left.

Naruto was now 16. His name was simply Naruto, no last name. No guardians had a last name, a last name would only add more value to the guardian's lives, something that could not happen. Guardians weren't meant to live happy lives, no. A guardian typically gave their lives to protect the life of their charge. Guardians never fell in love, and certainly never had children. That was, until Naruto's parents.

Minato and Kushina fell in love and somehow managed to get assigned to charges who were in love with each other. Eventually, Minato got Kushina pregnant, and she was too weak to protect her own charge. Minato took over, as guardian for both of their charges during Kushina's pregnancy.

Just as Kushina gave birth to Naruto, a powerful man attacked their charges, forcing Minato and a weakened Kushina to sacrifice their lives to stop the man. The Guardian Assembly immediately took Naruto, who was the son of two immensely powerful guardians. As soon as Naruto could walk, they began crafting him into the perfect guardian.

Naruto mastered his father's legendary rasengan and hirashin, and even created his own upgraded version of the rasengan. He mastered his mother's chakra chains technique as well. On top of that, the boy had mastered sage jutsu, and mastered both the wind and fire elements and was well on his way to mastering the water element. He truly was a prodigy.

His strength and speed were nearly unrivaled, and his taijutsu was second only to a few. Usually a guardian wasn't given a charge until they reached 18 years of age, but Naruto was a special case. At 16 he was already more powerful than even the most seasoned guardians.

Last but not least, the boy had two tanto that the he mysteriously never used. The council had tried to figure out what he used the tantos for, but Naruto would only tell them they were for his ultimate technique, and he hoped to never have to use them.

The powerful blonde-haired boy walked through the doors of the charge hall, and headed straight to the desk.

"Ah Naruto, congratulations on officially becoming a guardian." The kind old man behind the counter said as he shuffled through some folders looking for Naruto's charge information.

"Thank you old man." The boy calmly replied. Even though the boy had been trained from a baby, he still didn't seem to grasp the concept of respect fully when it came to his elders…

"Ah here you are. You lucked out Naruto, you got a beauty!" The old man proclaimed as he handed Naruto a folder. "Oh, don't forget your new change of clothes! We don't want you out there in the bright orange guardian trainee outfits. If you went out there like that, everyone in a 100 mile radius would be able to spot you!"

"Right, thanks old man. I'll be going now." The prodigy replied, as he took his leave. He opened the folder to see a picture of a beautiful girl with pink hair, and shining emerald eyes.

_Sakura Haruno huh… I wonder what your destiny is…_ the blonde mused as he left the Guardian Academy for the first time.

* * *

Sakura Haruno was walking through the village of Konoha. She wore a short red zip up sleeveless shirt, with a white circle on the back, a short pink skirt that went just to her thighs, and had tight black shorts underneath her skirt which went slightly further than the skirt. Her feet were covered by calf-length boots, and her long hair went just past her shoulders. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and she was glad to have nothing to do. Sakura was a highly intelligent girl who had been trained by her father how to fight a little, but she was only 16 and was yet to figure out what exactly she wanted to do with her life yet.

As a little girl she had always dreamed of being one of the Celesti, a person who had a hidden power which would reveal itself when they face their destiny. The Celesti had been saving the world since the beginning of humanity, whenever a major threat arises, a Celesti's hidden power would come out to save the world.

The Celesti had become so important to the world's safety, that in time they began to be hunted before their hidden powers could burst forth. That was when the Guardians appeared. A group of powerful heroes dedicated to protecting the Celesti. A younger Sakura had always dreamed of having a strong, handsome, dreamy Guardian who stood by her side as she saved the world.

Now that the pink-haired girl was older she knew how unlikely it was for her to be a Celesti. Sakura Haruno was simply an ordinary girl. Her taijutsu was nothing special, she didn't have very good stamina, she wasn't the most beautiful girl, she was just Sakura. A smart girl with an obnoxiously large forehead.

She remembered when her best friend Ino Yamanaka left two years ago. A strong looking older man, with spiky black hair and a black goatee and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, came to her and told her he was a Guardian and she was his charge. Sakura had been so jealous, but not overly surprised.

Ino was a stunning platinum blonde with the perfect figure, was strong-willed, intelligent, and brave. In the 10 years Sakura had spent hanging out with the blonde, she had never once backed down from any sort of challenge. Sakura had always admired that about Ino and always wished she was a little more like her friend.

In the two years since Ino had been recognized as a Celesti, Sakura hadn't heard from her once. The pink-haired girl often daydreamed of Ino fighting against evil with her sturdy guardian at her side.

_Ah what a life that would be…_ the "ordinary" girl thought dreamily. She was brought out of her musings when out of nowhere a cloaked man appeared in front of her.

"You are Sakura Haruno?" he asked in a deep, gruff tone. Sakura didn't know why, but hearing his voice sent chills up her spine. Warning signals began blaring in her mind as her muscles began to tense.

"Wh.. who wants to know?" she stuttered in as confident of a voice as she could muster.

"Tch, stupid girl. Asking that question is as good as confirming your identity. Your best bet was to lie and give a fake name." the cloaked man sneered as he took a slow, but deliberate step toward her.

Sakura backed up, and her body began involuntarily shaking. _No… I won't be scared…_ She thought as she stopped, and clenched her fist. _I don't know what this guy wants, but he's going to regret messing with me…SHANAROO!_

The pink-haired girl sprang at her attacker throwing a fist towards his face. The cloaked man easily caught and held onto her fist. With on fist caught Sakura tried to catch him in the gut with her knee, but the man easily dodged and caught her head with a roundhouse kick while simultaneously letting go of her hand. The kick sent her flying into a wall.

"You really are a stupid girl. Someone as weak as you should've known better than to attack me. Your best bet was to turn and run… Not that it would've made a difference." The cloaked man taunted as he slowly approached her.

Sakura's head was spinning, she felt blood tricking down the back of her head as she attempted to stand. Her trembling legs couldn't hold her as she dropped to her knees. Tears began falling from her eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she meekly asked her attacker.

"Because, you could be a problem to my boss later." The cloaked man replied calmly, as he stopped in front of her. He withdrew a kunai that he had hidden in his sleeve. "Now then, time to die brat."

Sakura's tear filled eyes could only watch as he swung the kunai at her throat.

_This is…_

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted as she was suddenly… teleported away and was now in the strong arms of a blonde-haired boy, with three whisker-like marks on his cheeks, and bright sapphire eyes.

"What the fuck? How did you do that?" the cloaked man stammered angrily.

The blonde ignored the man as his eyes examined her, with a slight frown on his face.

"Sorry I'm late." he apologized with a warm, kind voice.

"Wh.. Huh?" Sakura stammered. One second she was as good as dead, the next second she was in the arms of a strong, handsome boy whose voice sent a wave of warmth and calm throughout her entire body. Her usually active brain was uncharacteristically blank.

She looked at her savior. He was wearing black pants, and black open toed boots, a red sleeveless kimino shirt, a dark gray chainmail mesh undershirt, black wristbands, and a black forehead protector with a cherry blossom imprinted on the metal in the center. To top his outfit off, he wore a plain khaki colored cloak, with two red lines on the bottom around him. His hair wasn't short, but wasn't long, and was fairly spiky.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He repeated. "I've never been outside of the academy before, and I guess I should've studied geography a little more." The blonde finished with a nervous chuckle.

"Who…"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" the cloaked man yelled interrupting Sakura. He was obviously not too happy about the lack of attention the whiskered boy had been paying him.

Her sapphire eyed savior gently set her down, before turning to face her attacker. Sakura watched in awe as his previously gentle and warm eyes hardened into cold terrifying ones.

"You don't really need to know my name. All you need to know is that you attacked my charge, and now you're going to face the consequences of that." The blonde replied in an icy tone.

_His charge? Is he…_

"A guardian? Damn, you people are fast. I didn't expect her to get a guardian for at least another year… Oh well, a little fun never hurt anyone… Except you, and her" The cloaked man called out in an arrogant tone.

_I'm a Celesti?_

Sakura's guardian remained calm, his cold eyes fixed on the cloaked man. "Fun? Hah, I'm way out of your league. I hope you've made your peace, because you're about to die."

"You think a boy like you can kill me? Hahahahahahahaha. Dream on br…URK!"

The whiskered boy appeared to be fed up with talking, as he interrupted his opponent by flashing in front of him and ramming a kunai into his throat. The man fell back with a gurgle, his eyes wide with surprise.

_Shit!_ The blonde thought, as he realized what he had just done. He just brutally murdered someone in front of his charge, who probably had never seen someone die before. His once again warm sapphire eyes found horror stricken emerald ones.

"Uh… Sorry about that." He said awkwardly. "I've spent my entire life in the academy, so I sometimes forget that people aren't as accustomed to violence as I am."

"You… you killed him!" The pink-haired girl accused in a terrified tone, that matched the look of horror on her face.

"I did, I'm sorry I did it in such a brutal way. At the academy they always told us to kill our charge's first attacker away from our charge. My teacher would kill me if he found out about this…" Sakura's savior began walking towards her.

"S..Stay away from me you murderer! I know taijutsu!" Sakura stammered as she stumbled backwards. Her body was still wracked with pain, she could barely move.

"Relax Sakura." He said in his warm voice, with matching warm eyes. "You of all people will never have to fear me. Anyone who threatens you will however. You Sakura Haruno, are my charge. My life is now a shield for your life. I will protect you until you face your destiny, or die trying."

Sakura's face softened a little. _This is just like out of my dream! Except I was never bleeding from the back of my head in my dreams…_ "So I'm a… Celesti?" she asked her guardian who now stood a few feet from her.

The whiskered boy simply nodded at her. "What's your name?" Sakura softly asked.

"Naruto."

"Naruto? What no last name?"

"Guardians don't have last names. A last name would place a new value on our lives, and we could potentially neglect our charges to protect our family." Naruto stoically replied.

"That's terrible! What about…"

"Sakura," Naruto softly interrupted. "It's not something I really like to talk about, especially not now. That bastard still managed to hurt you and I need to get you to a hospital."

"What? I'm fine! Really!" Sakura lied as her knees began to buckle.

"Sure you are…" Naruto said, as he scooped her up bridal style. He closed his eyes and he seemed to be focusing on something. Just as Sakura was about to ask, his eyes flashed open to reveal yellow toad-like eyes, causing Sakura to gasp.

"Your eyes…"

"It's one of my techniques. These eyes signify that I'm in sage mode. When in sage mode I can track people's chakras better. I needed to figure out where the hospital was so I used my sage mode to find where there was a concentration of people who's chakra levels indicate that they're sick or injured. Now close your eyes, my method of travel can be a bit much for someone not used to it."

Sakura complied, and felt a strange pull on her body.

"You can open your eyes now Sakura."

Emerald eyes opened, and again Sakura gasped. She was in the hospital.

"How did we get here already? The hospital is at least a 30 minute walk from where we were." She stuttered.

"Hehe, I used a jutsu of mine called the hirashin. My father invented it, and I sorta improved it a little." Naruto bashfully replied.

"That's amazing Naruto!" Sakura cooed.

"It's nothing really Sakura…" Naruto replied with a blush.

_He must not be used to receiving compliments…_ The pink-haired Celesti thought. Her guardian carried her straight up to a doctor.

"Hey, she's hurt. Heal her." He gruffly ordered.

_He also doesn't appear to know anything about respect…_ Sakura thought with a sweat-drop.

The doctor looked at Naruto with an indignant look on her face, before noticing the blood oozing from the back of her head. "Follow me." The doctor replied, as he walked into an open room.

"You're SUPPOSED to check in and wait for a doctor or nurse to come to you, but since she appears to have suffered some sort of head trauma I'll let this slide just this once."

"Whatever, just heal her."

"What happened to you miss?" the doctor asked in an annoyed voice.

"I was attacked by a man. He kicked me in the head and I was slammed against a wall." The doctor shot a suspicious glance at Naruto.

"It wasn't Naruto, he saved me from the man!" Sakura quickly added, noticing the doctor's glance.

"I see…" the doctor murmured as he began cleaning the wound on Sakura's head. Sakura hissed in pain when he dabbed alcohol on it, instinctively reaching out and tightly squeezing Naruto's hand; the whiskered boy's eyes widened in surprise at the action.

"Hmmm… you don't appear to be concussed, which to be honest is a miracle. I'm going to stitch this up, and then you'll be good to go. Try not to fall asleep for 12 hours just in case you suffered a concussion though, and you'll need to come back in a couple of days so I can take these stitches out.

"That won't be necessary, I can take them out." Naruto interrupted.

"I'm sorry sir, but you don't appear to be a doc…"

"I've been trained in administering first aid. I only brought her here because I slacked in diagnostic classes."

"Well maybe you should stitch her up then!" the now thoroughly annoyed doctor huffed.

Sakura sighed.

"Fine." Came Naruto's gruff reply. "Umm… Sakura? I'm going to need both of my hands to do this…" Naruto awkwardly murmured.

Sakura blushed as she let go of her guardian's hand. "This is going to sting a little…" Naruto whispered. The pink-haired girl hissed in pain again as she felt him start to work. The annoyed doctor stomped out of the room in indignant outrage.

"There, good as new… Sort of. Now let's get going." Naruto said as he picked Sakura up. "We're going to leave this village. We're going to need to keep on the move before more people come to attack you."

"Isn't that what you're here for? To protect me from those people? I don't want to leave Konoha, I like it here… And why are you carrying me, I can walk just fine!"

Naruto blushed a little as he placed Sakura on her feet. "Oh… sorry about that. I didn't even realize I picked you up…"

"Sureeeee" The pink-haired girl teased. "Admit it, you just like carrying a beautiful girl like me around!"

Naruto's entire face was as red as a tomato. "No no no!" He chuckled nervously, waving his hands in front of him. "It's nothing like that. I just picked you up because I still considered you to be hurt. I wasn't really thinking... honest!"

"Nani? Are you trying to say I'm not beautiful?" Sakura growled, the playful expression that was on her face earlier long gone.

"What? No, of course not!" Naruto stammered. "You're very beautiful Sakura, but that wasn't the reason I was carrying you!" Sakura's angry face turned into a bright smile.

_Are all women in the real world crazy? None of the girls I met in the academy were like this. Of course I would be the one to get stuck with some crazy girl as my charge. _Naruto thought with a semi-hidden exasperated look on his face.

"So… you never answered my earlier question. Why can't we just stay in Konoha and have you fight off anyone who comes after me?" The pinkette asked with a serious look on her face.

"Listen Sakura, I'm very powerful, and I doubt there are many people in this world who can beat me. But you're my charge, and I'm not going to take any unnecessary chances. There's always a possibility that someone stronger than me will come after you. If we stay in Konoha, me fighting off your every attacker, eventually someone stronger will come. Maybe lured by wanting to kill you, or craving a battle with me to test their own power."

"I understand…" the emerald-eyed girl's face was tugged downwards into a frown. "When do we have to leave?"

"As soon as you say bye to the people you want to. While you're doing that, I'll pack up your things for the trip."

Sakura's face again turned upwards into another smile as she spotted another opportunity to flirt with/tease her new guardian.

"Well I didn't know my guardian was such a pervert!"

"What are you talking about now Sakura?" the blonde-haired guardian replied in a wary tone.

"You just want to pack my things so you can look at my panties! ERO-GUARDIAN!" Sakura hollered that last part loud enough to draw curious glances from the surrounding villagers.

"NANI?" Naruto yelled as a look of disbelief covered his face.

"You heard me just fine ero-guardian." Sakura replied sticking her tongue out at him.

_Why did I have to get stuck with her as my charge?_ Naruto inwardly groaned to himself. "Sakura… it's not like that at all. I'm just going to seal your stuff into scrolls so we can easily carry them. You don't know how to do sealing, so there's no need for you to be around. Instead, you can have that time to say goodbye to…"

"I know Naruto, I was just teasing you." Sakura interrupted with a smile present on her face. "But can't you say goodbye with me? I want everyone to meet you!"

"Sakura…" the whiskered guardian replied warily. "I'm a Guardian. We're not the type of person Celesti want to introduce to their precious people."

"Why not? I think my friends and family would all love to meet the man who's going to be protecting me for the rest of my life!"

A pained look appeared on Naruto's face. "I…" Sapphire eyes gazed sadly into shining emerald ones. _She's so… innocent. She seems to believe that whatever fantasy she invented about Celesti and Guardians are real. She looks so… happy. I can't tell her the truth. I will protect her from it for as long as I can…_

"I will protect you for the rest of my life Sakura." The blonde finished with a fake grin.

Sakura beamed at him. "I already knew that baka! Now come on, let's go meet my parents!" She grabbed Naruto's arm and began dragging him down the street.

-_This is so great! I don't really want to leave Konoha, but now I get to go travel the world with my dreamy Guardian by my side! And boy is Naruto dreamy… I just feel so warm and safe around him. He's even better than the Guardians I dreamed of when I was little!_

Sakura's dreamy stare fell upon her handsome Guardian. _And he said I'm beautiful! Strong, caring, warm, and he thinks I'm beautiful… I wonder if all Guardians are like this or if I just hit the jackpot…_

"Hey Naruto?"

"Ya?"

"Are all Guardians like you?"

"Erm… what do you mean Sakura?" Naruto replied thoroughly confused.

"Well you're powerful, caring, warm, kind, funny and handsome! I just wanted to know if all Guardians are like you or if I just got really lucky!" the Celesti asked with a cute semi-flirty smile.

"Umm… well I guess each Guardian is different just like each member of your village is different." _ Is she flirting with me? This isn't good…_

"So I'm lucky! Well I'm really glad I got you then!" Sakura beamed as she latched onto his arm. Naruto's body instantly stiffened and a blush began creeping up his cheeks.

"Sakura… what are you doing?" the blonde asked awkwardly, trying to get his arm free from her grip.

"I'm holding your arm baka." She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ya… but why? Are you feeling woozy from your injury?" _Damnit, she's pretty forward. I need to find a way to stop her flirting without telling her the truth._

"Nope. I'm feeling fine. I just want to hold your arm, got a problem with that?" the pink-haired girl declared.

"Well… sort of. Listen Sakura, I'm your Guardian and you're my charge." Sakura's face turned into a dreamy smile. "It's just… well you and I just met. Don't you think this is moving a little fast? We've only known each other for a couple of hours…" Naruto drawled.

_That was the best you can do Naruto? We're moving too fast? That's just a band aid to the problem, not a solution… Damnit, please just drop it Sakura. I don't want you to know the truth._

Much to Naruto's chagrin, Sakura's dreamy smile stayed put on her face.

"First off Naruto, it's not like holding your arm suddenly makes us boyfriend and girlfriend. Second, even though we've only known each other for a couple of hours, I trust you completely. Being near you fills my entire body with a wonderful warmth and a sense of security." Sakura retorted.

"You say that I'm kind, caring, and funny. But really Sakura, how do you know? You know nothing about me, how I act, how…"

"I know enough baka. I would be willing to bet every penny I will ever earn on the fact that you are kind, caring and funny." The pink-haired girl interrupted. _He's so cute, trying to play hard to get._

"Sakura… I think you're confusing your feelings for something they're not." The guardian cautioned. "I just saved your life so you're putting me on a pedestal…"

"I'm a pretty good judge of character Naruto, I'm not putting you on a pedestal because you saved me." Sakura let go of his arm. "Stop coming up with crappy excuses, if you don't want to be with me because you think I'm ugly or something then just say it!" she finished with a slightly hurt tone.

"I already told you Sakura, you're a beautiful woman, and you seem to be a great girl. Any guy would be lucky to have you." Naruto replied, not realizing he just fell into his charge's trap.

"You're right, you are!" Sakura cooed with a bright smile again latching onto his arm.

Naruto sighed as he looked at his beautiful pink-haired charge. _You're not making this easy Sakura…_ "Sakura, we can't be together like that ever. You're my charge, I'm your Guardian. That's just the way it is."

"And why can't a Guardian be with their charge? It seems to me that a Guardian in love with his or her charge would be an even better protector!" Sakura quickly retorted, a small frown present on her angelic face.

"It's just…" _Damnit, why can't she just give it up. I don't want to snap you from your fantasy Sakura… please give up. _"It's just the way things are alright?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You're keeping something from me aren't you?" _What if he has a…_ Sakura let go of his arm jumping backwards and pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"You have a girlfriend don't you?" she yelled.

Naruto again groaned. "No Sakura, I don't have a girlfriend. Guardians don't have romantic entanglements, it's just the way things are."

"Why?" Sakura was clearly not ready to give up.

"Because it's the way things are. I'm sorry Sakura, but it's how things are always going to be." _Please just drop it Sakura. Please… you're too innocent to be sucked into this messed up world._

"What aren't you telling me?" Sakura asked with a suspicious glance.

"N…nothing Sakura. Please just drop it." Naruto all but begged.

"Fine, I'll drop it for now, since we did just meet. But you're going to tell me the truth eventually, and then I will tell you why that truth is dumb." The pink-haired girl said confidently.

_Bullet dodged… for now anyways._ Thought Naruto. _I need to come up with a way to get her to forget about these things. I could treat her badly, but she's my charge, I don't ever want to hurt her… If I try ignoring her I could potentially be putting her in danger… Damnit, why didn't any of the academy classes tell us what to do if a charge suddenly starts falling for you…_

"We're here!" Sakura announced interrupting Naruto's musings.

"Where is here exactly?"

"My house, we're going to pack and say goodbye to my parent's." Sakura replied in a soft sad tone. Naruto hated hearing her speak in such a tone.

"Hey… I know this is hard. But not only are you going to get to explore the world, you might get to save it someday and be remembered as a mighty hero for generations to come." The blue-eyed Guardian consoled.

"I know… It's just kind of bittersweet to leave the place where I've lived all my life and to say goodbye to the people who took care of me, all while not knowing when I'll be able to return." Sakura's eyes were cast downwards and her angelic face was tugged into a frown."

"I know what you mean…" Naruto softly replied, catching his charge's eyes with his own. "Today is the first day I've ever been outside of the academy. Of course, the people there weren't very loving so I guess I wouldn't understand leaving behind precious people who took care of you…" Sakura's eyes softened a little.

"But look on the bright side… While you're with me you won't have to pay for a thing! As a Guardian I'm given a pretty decent salary so I can afford to pay for whatever you need!" He finished with a foxy smile as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Naruto's words managed to bring a small smile to Sakura's face, much to the Guardian's relief. "Thanks Naruto…" she nearly whispered before wrapping him into a tight hug. Not wanting to send her the wrong message, Naruto awkwardly patted her on the back.

She pulled back from him and shot him a beautiful smile, before opening the door and walking in.

"Sakura honey, where have you been? You were supposed to be home an hour ago." A man Naruto assumed was her father sternly greeted.

"Yea… sorry about that dad. But there was a… complication of sorts." Sakura quietly replied, not really knowing how to broach the subject with her parents.

"Your daughter was attacked because she is a Celesti ." Naruto butted in gruffly. "Unfortunately I didn't make it in time, and she sustained an injury. But she's fine now, and as long as I'm here she will never get hurt again." He continued confidently. Sakura shot her guardian a soft and grateful smile.

"NANI? And just who the hell are you?" Sakura's dad nearly yelled, obviously not pleased with the random boy who decided to inject himself into his and his daughter's conversation.

"My name is Naruto sir, and I am Sakura's guardian. Now that she's been identified as a Celesti, we need to keep moving. So unfortunately we will need to leave this village immediately, and I'm not sure when we'll be able to return."

"YOU THINK I'M GOING TO TRUST SOME KID I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE WHEN HE TELLS ME HE'S TAKING MY LITTLE GIRL OUT OF THE VILLAGE?" the angry Haruno patriarch bellowed.

"Dad… he's speaking the…"

"STAY OUT OF THIS SAKURA." Her father ordered.

"Mr. Haruno, I may be young, but I'm very powerful. If we stay here, the people after Sakura will eventually find out where she is, and eventually someone who is stronger than me could come to hurt her. When we're on the move it's harder for her enemies to keep tabs on our location." Naruto calmly explained, thanking the academy for teaching him how to deal with angry parents.

"And how the hell do I know you're not one of Sakura's "enemies?" And for that matter, how the hell do I know that Sakura's a Celesti?" the Haruno man spat.

"Dad, he saved me. He's my guardian, the man who attacked me CALLED Naruto my guardian." Sakura interjected.

"Sakura, you're young. He could easily be manipulating you, I can fight well enough. If you're really a Celesti then I will protect you from anyone who comes after you honey." Sakura's dad replied.

"Mr. Haruno, you may be strong in your own right. But I can tell that you can't access your chakra. You don't stand a chance against anyone who would go after a Celesti. Believe me when I say this, Sakura is safest with me. My very soul is now a shield for her life." The blonde Guardian retorted, trying his best to maintain his calm. _We don't have time for this… she should be saying her goodbyes, we should be getting out of here. If one person found her, then others know to look for her here._

"Makoto, I think this boy is telling the truth." Sakura's mother said, speaking up for the first time. "I've been watching his eyes throughout this conversation, and the way he looks at Sakura, I can tell he will not let anything happen to her. He's truly worried for her safety."

"Hmmph, that may be so Kaori," Makoto replied. "But that doesn't mean he's strong enough. Outside now boy, you think you're strong enough to protect my princess? Then prove it." Naruto sighed and followed his charge's father out of their house.

Makoto and Naruto stood staring each other down, and Makoto drew his katana. "Are you ready boy?"

"Haruno-san, please, I don't want to hurt you. Just say goodbye to your daughter, she's already having a difficult enough time with this as it is." Naruto pleaded.

"Just as I figured, you're weak and afraid. You want to be on the run so you don't have to fight." Makoto smugly spat.

"Just because I prefer to avoid a fight whenever possible, doesn't mean I'm weak Haruno-san. This is my last warning, please stop this."

Makoto responded by letting out a feral roar and charging his daughter's guardian, intending to cleave the boy in two. Naruto disappeared and reappeared in a flash behind the elder man, gently knocking him in the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Haruno-san, you don't stand a chance against me. Not only do I have access to my chakra, but I've trained very hard and know many advanced techniques. It would take you at least 10 years of intense chakra training to even be near my level of power."

Makoto looked up at the blonde with a shocked expression on his face. _I couldn't even come close to tracking that boy. He moved so fast that he seemed to have disappeared…_ Naruto offered his hand to the elder Haruno, which Makoto took.

Naruto followed a surprised Makoto back inside. "I'm sorry… Naruto you said your name was? I'm just very protective of my daughter. If someone as powerful as you is looking after her, then that must mean she truly is a Celesti. And if as her guardian, you feel it is safest for her to be on the move, then I will not try to stop you."

Sakura smiled at her father as a look of relief flooded her face. _Thank god Naruto didn't hurt him, from what I saw earlier it would've been easy for Naruto to seriously maim or kill dad without any effort at all._

"Let's go pack your stuff Sakura, we need to get moving. I don't want anyone else finding you here." Naruto said.

"Right, follow me." Sakura replied, leading the way to her room.

* * *

An hour later, Naruto and Sakura returned from her room, with a couple of scrolls. Sakura had teased him when he was sealing her underwear, and her powerful guardian blushed furiously.

"It's hard to believe that so much of my stuff are in those three scrolls." Sakura said softly.

"Yea, fuinjutsu is amazing. Most guardians don't really know much about it, but my father was a fuinjutsu master, and I inherited his aptitutde for it." Naruto boasted.

"Just another of the many reasons I'm lucky to have gotten you as my guardian." Sakure replied with a soft smile on her face.

_Crap…_ Naruto frantically thought. _She's giving me THAT smile again. I really need to be careful about setting her up for these kind of moments. If she pushes this too far then I'll have to snap her from her fantasy…_

"So honey… do you know what your destiny is? I don't actually know how this whole Celesti thing works." Sakura's mother asked. Sakura just shrugged her shoulders and turned to Naruto for an answer.

"It doesn't work that way actually. I have no idea what her hidden power is, and have no idea when she will face her destiny, if she ever even will. A lot of Celesti go through their entire lives without their hidden powers being needed. We won't know what destiny Sakura has to face, or what her hidden power is until that exact moment comes." The whiskered boy explained.

"So… does that mean she may never be able to come home? That she will always be hunted?" Kaori asked with a sad look on her face, one that was mirrored on her daughter's face as well.

"Unfortunately it does. Although usually when a Celesti gets older, they have less people hunting them, as there are younger Celesti to go after. The older a Celesti gets, the more likely they are to die without having to face their destiny. Once Sakura reaches a certain age, I'm sure her guardian and she will return here."

Sakura noticed that Naruto said "her guardian and she" instead of "we" and looked at him with a puzzled expression. _Why didn't he say we…_

"It's alright. I know my little girl is safe as long as she has you looking after her Naruto. I know that nothing will happen to Sakura because you will always be there to protect her." Sakura's father exclaimed warmly, clapping the guardian on his back.

A slight pained expression showed up on Naruto's face for just a second, before he replaced it with a confident smile. Sakura however, noticed the brief expression. _What are you hiding from me Naruto…_

"Of course Haruno-san! I will protect Sakura until the end of my life!" he replied confidently. _Well, that's the truth at least…_ the sapphire eyed boy thought.

Sakura's parents simply smiled at the guardian. "I'll be waiting for you outside Sakura. Take what time you need to say goodbye." Naruto said, before stepping outside of the house.

The Guardian stood outside the house, alert for any hint of danger. _We've been here for too long, but Sakura needs to properly say goodbye. _

_

* * *

_

Sakura watched as her Guardian stepped out of the house, to give her and her parents some privacy. _That was sweet of him._ She thought with a smile.

"Well Mom, Dad, I guess this is goodbye for now. You don't need to worry about me, I've never felt safer than I do when I'm around Naruto. He'll protect me. Hopefully we can come back soon, but I don't really know how all this works…"

"I'm proud of you princess. Try to write ok?" Sakura's father said softly as he gave his daughter a hug.

"You like him don't you sweety?" Sakura's mother asked.

"Ya, I do. But I'm not sure if he likes me…" Sakura answered with a slight frown on her face.

"I saw the way he looked at you honey. He likes you, don't give up. Be safe. I love you Sakura" Kaori said as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Thanks Mom. Love you too." Sakura replied, tears forming in her eyes as well.

"I love you Sakura. Make us proud, and if you or Naruto ever need anything, we will be here for you." Makoto added.

"Love you too dad… thanks." Tears began freely falling from Sakura's face as she rushed forward to catch her parents in a hug.

"I'll miss you… so much…" the pink-haired girl sobbed.

"Shhh… it's ok honey. You're going to get to travel the world with a handsome boy protecting you. This is basically a dream come true for you." Kaori soothed. Sakura pulled away from the hug and smiled.

"You're right. Well, I guess I better get going now. Thanks for everything mom and dad, I hope to be able to see you soon."

"Goodbye honey." They both replied in perfect unison. The pink-haired Celesti exited her home and smiled when she saw Naruto's alert sapphire eyes scanning their surroundings. She walked up to him and looped her arm around his.

"Lead on oh powerful Guardian!" she beamed. Naruto was obviously uncomfortable with having their arms looped together, but led the way anyways.

"So… are you ok? Your eyes look a little red…" Naruto inquired with a concerned voice.

"I'm fine! I mean… it's hard to suddenly leave your parents and home without crying, but it's ok. I get to travel the world with you, I'm excited! This is basically what I used to dream of when I was a little girl!" Sakura assured while flashing him a genuine grin.

Naruto simply plastered a fake smile on his face in response. _She's way too innocent for this. I will protect your dream Sakura... for as long as I possibly can…_

_

* * *

_

Sakura was standing just outside the gate of Konoha, staring back at her home, her guardian at her side.

"Well… this is it. Goodbye Konoha…" The pink-haired girl whispered before turning to the whiskered boy. "Well, let's go save the world Naruto!" She proclaimed in a cheery tone while pumping her fist in the air.

Her guardian chuckled, and began walking the path away from Konoha. "Yea Sakura, let's go save the world…" he whispered too softly for her to hear.

* * *

"So… they brought Naruto out of the academy early…" A tall man, with raven black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and one line under each of his red eyes said.

"That is correct sir." A cloaked figure replied.

"Hmm, they've been saving Naruto for a highly important Celesti. Do you know where he and his charge are currently?"

"Yes sir, they're travelling a path from Konoha, I'm not quite sure where Naruto plans on taking his charge though."

"I want you to ambush Naruto on his path, but don't kill him. He will be a powerful ally, free him from his charge." The raven-haired man ordered.

"Hai… Itachi-sama."

* * *

Yeehaw, sorry for the first chapter. It wasn't the greatest, but I had to throw in a lot of info so you would know the universe I'm writing in. I'm even more curious for reviews than normal for this one as it is my first entirely AU venture. So REVIEW and let me know what you think. Seem like the dumbest idea ever? Overused idea? Interesting idea? Let me know =)

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for next time!


	2. Burden

Chapter 2! Woohoo!

As always, I appreciate the review/favorites/follows.

Thanks to my reviewers from the first chapter: Gravenimage, dbzgtfan2004, Serenity Namikaze, Echo Uchiha, saveme57, Kelxcon, internduncan, Mr. Horrible, DrendeSalkash,TheRealLifeAlucard, panda-kun, Demonkid, Ventidus

Gravenimage: I'm glad you like it so far! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter!

dbzgtfan2004: Thanks! /e salutes. Will do :D

Serenity Namikaze: I'm honored that you would give this a try when AU's aren't normally your cup of tea =) I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and hope you enjoy this one as well! /e perks head up. Reward? :D

Echo Uchiha: :D

saveme57: Thanks! I hope this chapter doesn't dissapoint =)

Kelxcon: Thanks! The idea just randomly popped into my head, and I decided to see what I could do with it =P Minor spoiler alert- Naruto isn't going to spill his secret without a fight :D

internduncan: Hehe, thanks! Hope you enjoy this chapter =)

Mr. Horrible: I'm glad you enjoy it! And don't worry, even though Naruto is ridiculously strong doesn't mean he's just going to wtfpwn everyone he fights. He IS just a 16 year old kid out in the world for the first time after all!

DrendeSalkash: Thanks! If you happen to remember the name of the book let me know. Sounds like it would be worth a read!

TheRealLifeAlucard: DODO BIRDS! HOOOOOOO! (think Thundercats... don't ask me why I decided to turn Lionel's thundercats battle cry into a dodo bird battle cry... because I honestly don't know...) Glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and here's one of those "updates" you requested =P

panda-kun: Thanks! Ask and you shall receive. Here's more! =)

Demonkid: Glad you enjoyed the first chapter! Now that the challenge has been laid, I'm making it a goal to surprise you... somehow... =P (Dodo birds ftw)

Ventidus: AU stands for Alternate Universe. Meaning this story is going to take place outside of the regular Naruto-verse. And thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and hope you enjoy this one =)

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and use some of my money to build a legitimate moat around my house and fill aforementioned moat with swordfish

Ok, I'll stop my prattling now. Please do enjoy "Guardian"-Chapter 2: Burden

* * *

Sakura was stargazing in the beautiful night sky while she waited for her guardian to finish cooking their dinner over the campfire he started. Her feet felt like they were going to fall off at any minute. They had walked at a fairly brisk pace without a single break since they left Konoha five hours ago.

She didn't want to be any more of a burden on Naruto than she already was, so she didn't say anything. The whiskered boy didn't seem to realize how tired she was, and to be honest, the celesti was happy for that. Besides, her endurance could use a little work. With more stamina, she wouldn't need Naruto to protect her as much.

She took a break from her stargazing to examine her dreamy guardian. A warm feeling spread through her body as she watched him cook. He was tossing something about in a pan, sniffing it, and randomly adding dashes of herbs.

_He seems to really know what he's doing. Strong, caring, handsome, sweet, AND he appears to know how to cook. You just keep getting better and better Naruto…_ Sakura thought with a soft smile on her face.

She took her eyes off her guardian for a moment to gaze at the tent he, well rather his "shadow clone" as he called it, set up earlier. Sakura had been so happy when he only set up one tent, but she hid her excitement. He didn't seem to be very receptive to her advances, so she needed to be a little sneakier now.

_I can't wait to sleep in the same small tent with my gorgeous guardian tonight! 10 year old me would be SO jealous!_

"Food's done Sakura." Naruto called, bringing the now blushing girl out of her thoughts.

"Ooh, that smells wonderful Naruto." Sakura exclaimed as she sat done directly next to him, just close enough to where her shoulders brushed against his. Naruto gave her a weird look when she sat so close to him, and began to open his mouth, but Sakura interrupted before he could say anything.

"Don't give me that. It's cold out here, you're warm. As my guardian you need to make sure I don't get sick right?"

"Fine." The blonde replied gruffly. "But don't go thinking this means anything."

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it!" Sakura replied sweetly, while batting an eyelash at her guardian.

_Just great…_ Naruto thought.

"Oh my god! This is so good!" Sakura cooed. "Is there anything you can't do Naruto? I'm seriously starting to doubt it."

Naruto looked at her in surprise. He had just made a simple dish… White rice with rabbit, and a random assortment of vegetables. He hadn't done anything special in his opinion.

"Erm… this is nothing special Sakura. But I'm glad you enjoy it. And there's plenty I can't do. My instructors at the academy would always call me a disgrace to my parents' legacy because of how awful I was at genjutsu…" Naruto replied with a fake grin on his face.

Sakura hadn't been around Naruto for too long, but still recognized the grin as a fake one. "That's terrible! You're so strong! Who cares if you're not good at…ginjutsu?"

"Genjutsu…"

"Genjutsu! I'm sure your parents would be proud of you!" Sakura announced. The smile on Naruto's face softened into a genuine one, which in turn caused Sakura to smile with the knowledge that she had comforted him.

"Thanks Sakura…" he softly replied, his eyes staring off into the distance.

"So, I noticed you said that your instructors would say you're a disgrace to your parent**s'** legacy, and not a particular parent. So that must mean they were both guardians. But according to you, guardians aren't allowed to fall in love and have a family. Yet it appears you come from a family of guardians…" Sakura deduced in a soft tone.

Naruto's smile fell from his face and was replaced with a sad frown; his eyes were cast down to the ground. _She's very observant… _"My parents… I… I've never been part of a family Sakura." The blonde guardian tried and failed to hide the sadness in his voice.

Sakura looked at him in confusion, before a sad realization set in on her face. "So your parents abandoned you when you were born?"

"Hmm… I guess you could say that. They really didn't have much of a choice though…" Came the guardian's quiet reply.

"You guess? What happened?"

"Sakura… don't worry about it. I really don't like talking about it. So just drop it ok?"

_I can't tell her what happened. It might clue her in on the reality of this life she's now involved in. It could snap her out of her dream world._

"I'm not dropping it Naruto. I want to know more about you." Sakura replied in the same soft tone, her caring emerald eyes attempting to capture his sad sapphire ones.

"Sakura please… drop it. It's not a very good story anyways…" Naruto pleaded.

"Why won't you tell me? You can trust me Naruto, if it's a painful memory then it might do you some good to talk about it instead of hiding it away."

"It won't do me any good. It's a memory that belongs in the very back of my mind. PLEASE drop it."

"Just ignoring something can cause mental instability Naruto. As my guardian, aren't you supposed to make sure you're as strong as you can be, both physically and mentally? Therefore, you should tell me the truth, to help clear your head more so you can better protect me." Sakura reasoned, hoping the logical approach would work.

The guardian sighed as he looked into her emerald eyes. "You're not going to drop this no matter how much I beg are you?"

The pink-haired celesti beamed at him. "Nope!"

"Fine…" Naruto groaned. "My parents… my parents' names were Minato and Kushina. They were close during their training in the Guardian Academy, and they eventually fell in love. When the day came that they both had to leave the academy to get their first charges, they were very sad." Naruto's voice was so soft and quiet, that it was almost a whisper.

"Because they would have to ignore their own feelings?"

"Ya. But they were lucky. Their charges happened to fall in love with each other, and as a result my mom and dad protected their charges together. Life was good for them for a year… but then my dad got my mom pregnant… with me."

The guardian stopped talking, and clenched his fists together tightly. His charge grabbed both of his fists, and gave them a squeeze while smiling softly at him, urging him to continue.

"My mom was much weaker than normal when she was pregnant, so my dad had to take over guardian duties for both of their charges by himself, while protecting my mom. Then, on the night I was born, a powerful man attacked my parents' charges. My mom was weak, but joined my dad in his fight, and both of my parents had to sacrifice their lives to protect their charges… and me." A single tear slid down Naruto's cheek.

"My parents died because they fell in love. My parents died because they had me…" _Hopefully this will be enough to deter her from trying to pursue me any further…_ the sad blonde thought.

"That's terrible!" Sakura wrapped him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry Naruto… Thank you for telling me." _So that's why he's afraid of being with me. His parents died when they fell in love, so he must just assume that whenever a guardian falls in love they die…_

Naruto didn't really know how to react to the tight embrace his charge currently had him wrapped in… He needed to be careful not to send any wrong messages.

"Eh… Sakura… It's all right. It's all in the past now, so there's no use worrying about it now." The whiskered guardian said awkwardly.

Sakura pulled back from her embrace, a little disappointed that her guardian did not return the embrace, but she now understood why. _I'll just have to break down his defenses. I'll show him that just because he falls in love doesn't mean he's going to die… SHANAROO!_

"So… what happened next? If you don't mind me asking that is. Who took care of you, your parents' charges?"

"No… It's rare enough to have a child with a parent who was a guardian, and BOTH of my parents were guardians. Not just guardians, but some of the more powerful guardians in the order at that. The Guardian Council could see the potential in such an offspring, and immediately took me." Naruto explained in a now surprisingly lifeless tone.

"I see… so did they raise you then?"

"I guess you could say that. I was a prodigy, a powerful weapon… Well… a powerful shield in this case. But as soon as I started walking, the council began shaping me into the perfect guardian. I celebrated my 3rd birthday with a spar against an 8 year old guardian in training, who just so happened to be a prodigy himself. I was beaten badly, and when I started to cry, they told me I should stop crying and start training because I was so weak." The guardian's voice was still lifeless, as his eyes gazed off into the distance.

"That's… that's terrible! How could they do that to a little kid? It's…"

"It was a good idea Sakura." Naruto interrupted. "Thanks to them pushing me so hard all my life, I'm now extremely powerful. I'm easily one of the most powerful guardians in our order. There aren't many people in this world who can defeat me."

"Maybe so… but still! They took your childhood…"

"Guardians don't need a childhood." Naruto again interrupted. "Guardians only need power to protect their charge. And power is something I have."

Sakura again wrapped the blonde-haired guardian into a tight hug. "I still don't like it. Now that you're with me, things are going to be different. I'm going to make sure you're happy too." She whispered softly.

"I'm happy as long as you're safe Sakura." Naruto blandly replied, trying to think of a way to get out of the embrace his charge currently had him trapped in. _This feels so nice… but I can't let myself stay like this. If I acquire feelings for her, then I will only hurt her that much more in the end…_

"You're going to have more reasons to be happy than just me being safe now that you're my guardian." The pink-haired celesti said stubbornly, tightening her hold on her guardian.

"Hehe… alright Sakura. Thanks. But you can let go of me now, I'm really all right."

"I could… or I could just keep holding you like this. From the sounds of it, you missed out on a lot of physical attention like this as a child. So I could let you go, or I could help get you caught up…"

Naruto sighed. _Why can't you be less stubborn…_

"Now, since you're not used to this sort of thing…" Sakura softly started as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll tell you what you're supposed to do when someone holds you like this. Now notice where your arms are right now, they're at your side. That is wrong. Your arms should be around me, just like mine are around you." She lectured. "Go on, give it a try."

Naruto let out another exasperated sigh, and kept his arms where they were.

"I said give it a try…" Sakura growled.

"Damnit Sakura… I already told you that a guardian and his charge could not be together like this…" Naruto grumbled.

"Just because you let me hold you, and you hold me, doesn't mean we're together. This is simply a guardian and his charge comforting one another." Sakura said matter of factly.

"Seems like something a boyfriend and girlfriend would do to me."

"Well… a boyfriend and girlfriend WOULD hold each other. But two friends can hold each other too. So stop arguing and just do it." The pinkette commanded.

Naruto sighed as he finally gave in to his pink-haired charge and wrapped his arms around her. He instantly felt Sakura nuzzle into him further, and could feel the smile on her face. A blush crept up his face, and the guardian had to use all of his willpower to keep a small smile from his face.

"There, see? Now that's a lot better."

"I guess…" Naruto mumbled, a now large blush present on his face.

They just sat in each other's embrace for another 15 minutes until Sakura let out a yawn.

"Oh man, I'm starting to get tired. Why don't we go to bed Naruto?" Sakura suggested. _I can't believe it! He just held me for a good 15 minutes, and I held him for even longer! And NOW I'm about to cuddle up with him for the night. I'm already wearing down his defenses, SHANAROO!_

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "That sounds like a good idea Sakura." He was extremely relieved when the girl let go of him, and they broke their embrace.

Sakura walked to the tent, with Naruto close behind. Crawling into the tent, she noticed a single bedroll and smirked. _Looks like Naruto wasn't as opposed to being close to me as he said he was. _She looked behind her, ready to poke fun at her guardian, but was surprised to see he wasn't there.

"Naruto? Aren't you coming to bed?"

"The tent is for you Sakura. I'm going to sit outside and take watch."

"NANI? But you need to sleep too. Why don't you just summon a clone to keep watch and come in here so you can get some rest?" Sakura asked in a slightly bossy tone.

"Sorry Sakura, but my shadow clones don't work that way. If I slip out of consciousness, then my clones will instantly disappear." Naruto lied. _A little white lie never hurt anyone. _

"Then don't keep watch, you need your rest. Come in here." The pinkette pleaded.

"I'm fine. I've been trained to be able to operate on little sleep. Go to sleep now Sakura, I'll see you in the morning."

Pink-hair plopped down onto a pillow, as Sakura huffed. _Damn him. Oh well… I made good progress today. I'll eventually get through to him. So far this is exactly like my fantasies after all, so it's only a matter of time. _Sakura thought with a dreamy smile on her face as she let sleep overtake her.

* * *

A cloaked man watched Naruto from a distance, not daring to venture any closer lest he provoke the powerful blonde.

_Hmmm, looks like they're travelling north. I love guardians who are fresh out of the academy, they always take the main roads._

The cloaked man took off, and came to a spot further north on the path than Naruto and his charge currently were camped at.

_This should be a perfect place to set up an ambush ya!_

A gust of wind blew the man's cloak off his head to reveal blonde hair, ending in a ponytail.

"Hopefully I don't accidentally kill Naruto with this little set up un!"

* * *

Naruto waited until Sakura's breathing slowed to a sleeping pace, before forming a cross seal.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu." He whispered softly, as four clones appeared in a puff of smoke. Not a single word was said as the clones set up watch around the perimeter of the camp. They knew to dispel the second they saw anything, which would instantly awaken the blonde.

The guardian summoned another shadow clone, and tossed it a scroll on water manipulation. The clone simply took the scroll and began reading.

Naruto closed his eyes, and drew in nature chakra to enter sage mode. He scanned the immediate area for any sort of foreign chakra, but found none. Satisfied, the whiskered boy allowed himself to drift to sleep.

* * *

"What did you call me here for Itachi? I'm a busy man!" complained a somewhat tall man, with white hair, and a double bladed scythe on his back.

"Hidan, Naruto has been released from the academy and given a charge. I've already sent Deidara to kill the girl and capture Naruto, but Deidara isn't strong enough..."

"So you want me to go and help him?" The man named Hidan rudely interrupted.

"No. You are going to pose as a concerned guardian. You will approach his charge while Naruto is distracted with Deidara and convince her to activate that seal." Itachi ordered, in a slightly annoyed tone.

"What? Enemy or not, I feel bad using that seal on a fellow guardian Itachi…" Hidan complained.

"I don't care. You remember what happened to the last person who disobeyed me don't you?" Itachi coldly replied.

Hidan shivered at the memory. One of Itachi's newest recruits flat out refused to use his relationship with a former comrade to exploit them. Itachi trapped the boy in his Tsukuyomi. Hidan would never know what the boy saw, but whatever it was must've been bad as the boy dropped to the ground and began frothing from his mouth while his dead eyes stared blankly ahead. Itachi finished him off by decapitating him with his katana.

"Of course Itachi-sama. When will I be needed?" Hidan replied nervously.

"Tomorrow. Go find Deidara immediately." The raven-haired man ordered.

"Hai… Itachi-sama."

* * *

Naruto awoke to a pair of slender arms wrapping themselves around him. Cursing his clones for not alerting him of danger, the guardian's muscles began to tense as he prepared to fight off his attacker.

"So… your clones dispel as soon as you lose consciousness eh?" a familiar voice observed in his ear. "It looks like they were just fine when you were sleeping before."

"Hehe… Well you see…" Naruto nervously stammered. "I eh… I just figured out how to do it last night, ya! Quite the breakthrough in my shadow clo…"

"Mmhmm, of course you did Naruto. Well, now you can sleep in the tent tomorrow night." Sakura said in an overly sweet tone.

"It's safer if I sleep in front of the entrance to the tent Sakura. That way if anyone comes after you, they have to go through me to reach you." The guardian replied.

Sakura sighed and let go of him. "You're too stubborn baka. You'll get sick if you keep sleeping outside."

"Sakura it's spring. I doubt I'll get sick." Naruto shot back, as he stood up to start preparing breakfast.

"What's that clone doing?" the pink-haired celesti asked, pointing at Naruto's shadow clone who was studying the water manipulation scroll.

"He's working on understanding water manipulation, so I can start using water chakra."

"Water chakra? There's different kinds of chakra?"

"Yep. There's elemental chakra, which is used to strengthen elemental jutsus. Most guardians have an affinity for one element, and can also produce another element." Naruto explained.

"Let me guess, you being the amazing guardian that you are, have an affinity for all the elements." Sakura said with a sarcastic smile.

"Well… not exactly. My affinity is wind, but I've still managed to master fire manipulation as well. I hope to be the first guardian to master each of the elements." The guardian replied. "In addition to elemental chakra, I've mastered nature chakra as well."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow at him, motioning for him to continue.

"I can gather the natural energy around me and mix it with my own chakra to enter sage mode. You've already seen my sage mode once before. But I can do a lot more than just track in it. In sage mode, I can utilize powerful senjutsus. Techniques on a whole new level of power."

"That sounds awesome!" Sakura beamed.

"Hehe… yea. Not very many people can use sage mode." Naruto bragged while scratching the back of his head.

"Naruto…" The blonde-haired guardian was surprised at the serious look his charge had on her face. "I want you to train me. I know I'm going to be a burden to you…"

"You're not a burden to me Sakura. My job is to protect you. Never let yourself think that you're a burden." Naruto said in a serious tone.

"I… thanks Naruto. But I still want to be able to fight better. That guy in Konoha would've easily killed me if you hadn't arrived when you did. I know that I'm not supposed to be on the front lines fighting, but I want to be able to defend myself better." Sakura declared.

"Hmm… I've never heard about a guardian training their charge before. But it would make sense… Ok Sakura. I'll train you, but don't think you're going to be able to do the things that I can do. You don't have access to your chakra. We'll improve your taijutsu for now, and eventually I'll train you to use some sort of weapon."

Sakura smiled and wrapped her arms around her blonde-haired guardian. "Thanks Naruto! You're the best!"

The whiskered boy chuckled. "You say that now Sakura… Let's see what you think after I've been training you for a bit."

"Whatever." Sakura scoffed. "You won't hurt me. Let's get started!"

"We're not going to start yet. I want to reach a little village about eight hours north of here by tonight, so you can sleep in an actual bed tonight. We'll start your training once we're there. Eat your breakfast while I seal everything up."

Naruto stood and walked into the tent, leaving Sakura to enjoy the rice and egg stir fry he quickly made her.

_With Naruto's training I'm going to be strong! I'll be so strong I won't need my hidden powers, SHANAROO! Naruto and I will the strongest guardian and celesti duo ever!_

_Sakura really is something else._ Naruto mused as he sealed a bedroll. _From what I've been taught, most celesti don't bother with training because they know their hidden power will be all they need when the time comes. Yet Sakura wants to be stronger so she's less of a burden on me. I'm pretty lucky to get such a unique charge…_

The blonde exited the tent, and proceeded to seal that up as well. He glanced over at his charge.

_She really is beautiful…Wait… what?_ The guardian shook his head. _I can't allow myself to think like that. If I start acknowledging those thoughts I'll just end up hurting her in the end._

"Ready to go Sakura?"

"Ya, let's get going!"

The whiskered boy flashed her a smile as he dispelled his clones. _Hmm, my clone didn't make too much headway in this water manipulation scroll… Oh well._

Sakura looped her arm around his.

"Sakura…" Naruto warned.

The pink-haired celesti simply stuck her tongue out at him and began dragging him northwards along the path.

The guardian sighed and gave in, subconsciously tightening the loop between him and his charge.

* * *

"I still don't see why you're here un. I remember Naruto from back in the academy, he was strong, but I can take him. Especially with this trap." Deidara grumbled.

"You last saw Naruto when he was 10. He's 16 now and a lot more powerful. Of course, I could beat him, but I'm blessed by Jashin." Hidan boasted.

"Whatever, I'm just looking forward to killing another celesti and freeing a fellow guardian, ya!"

"Jashin is also looking forward to her sacrifice…" Hidan said with a sadistic smile on his face.

* * *

"Hey let's take a break. You're starting to look tired." Naruto said to the pink-haired girl currently attached to his arm. He started slowing to a stop, but Sakura stubbornly dragged him forward.

"I'm fine, we've only been walking for 5 hours." She huffed.

"Sakura… it's not a big deal if you need a break. We probably should've rested during our walk from Konoha yesterday. I'm still used to life in the academy where everyone's stamina is a little closer to mine. Sorry about that…" the whiskered boy apologized as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"I'm perfectly fine Naruto, stop worrying. Let's just keep going. The sooner we get there the sooner we start my training!" Sakura crowedwith a fist pump.

Naruto chuckled at his charge's antics. "All right, we'll keep going. But just promise me you'll tell me if you need a break ok?"

Sakura smiled softly up at her guardian. "I will."

The two continued walking in a pleasant silence, arm in arm. To any random person, they would look like a young, carefree happy couple. But anyone with a trained eye could see how alert the spiky-haired blonde was.

"SHIT!" Naruto suddenly swore. "SAKURA GET DOWN!"

Sakura looked up at her guardian in confusion, as he suddenly threw her down to the ground and covered her with his body. Just as Naruto's body blocked off her vision she heard what sounded like a series of explosion, and she saw flames headed towards the duo.

Naruto completely shielded Sakura from the blast, hissing in pain. The guardian attempted to mold his chakra as a sort of protective shield, but his chakra control was simply not good enough.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled as tears fell from her eyes.

The flames finally died down, and Naruto pulled himself off his charge, his warm sapphire eyes peering into her terrified and worried emerald ones.

"Everything's alright now Sakura. Don't worry." He soothed, trying to hide the pain he was currently feeling.

"Are you ok?" Sakura asked in a voice filled with worry and a face to match.

"I'm fine."

"My my my! That was pretty impressive ya!" a voice called out. A voice Naruto instantly recognized.

"Deidara?" the startled guardian gasped, whirling around.

It was Sakura's turn to gasp as she looked at the state of her guardian. The explosion had completely burned the skin off Naruto's back, his kimono shirt was gone, and some of the chainmail mesh had melted into his bloodied back. If his back hadn't been such a gruesome sight, Sakura might have marveled at how miraculously his back was the only thing hurt. His legs, and the back of his head looked perfectly fine.

"Naruto! You're…"

"It's fine Sakura." The guardian quickly interrupted.

"No it's not! We need to…"

"We don't need to do anything. You're ok, that's all that matters."

"But…"

"Drop it for now at least Sakura."

"…Fine." Sakura grunted, with concerned eyes.

"Oh my, such a worried charge you have their Naruto un!" Deidara taunted.

"Deidara what the hell are you doing? Where's your charge?"

"My charge? I was freed from my charge. Now then Naruto, let's see how much you've grown since you were a 10 year old little boy!"

_Crap… Deidara fights with explosives. If I fight him with Sakura close by I'm putting her in danger… But if I go too far away I'm leaving her open to attack… And to make things worse I'm loosing blood fast, I'm on a time limit before I pass out. I might have to use that technique to get out of this…_

Deidara turned around and started walking away.

"Huh… Hey where are you going?" A startled Naruto asked.

"I can see it in your eyes, you don't want to fight me so close to your charge, but you don't want to leave her completely defenseless. So we can start our fight further away. I want to see what you can do Naruto, and I don't want you holding back hmmm!"

The whiskered guardian nodded, and turned back to his concerned charge.

"Here, take this." Naruto said, placing a strange three-pronged kunai into Sakura's hand. "This kunai was used by my father for his hirashin. When I actually use this, my hirashin is faster than it is when I use it without the seal. So with this, I can get to you as quickly as possible."

"Please be careful Naruto… I don't want to lose you." Sakura whispered.

"I'll see what I can do." The guardian replied with a toothy grin, before following his opponent. Deidara had already taken to the air on a clay bird.

_This isn't like Deidara. I don't know him that well, but he was never an overly honorable fighter. If he's so willing to let me fight away from Sakura like this then he's probably laced that area with mines. I can't just hirashin in blindly… I need to buy some time to think._

Naruto come to a complete stop, his body didn't move a single inch. "What did you mean earlier when you said you were freed from your charge?"

"Hmm? Well it's exactly what it sounds like! With a little bit of help, I was able to kill my charge, and now my life is my own! You wouldn't believe how great it feels ya!"

"You… what? How could you kill your charge… That's UNFORGIVABLE!" Naruto yelled as his eyes took on a familiar toad-like appearance.

"Hahaha. Unforgiveable Naruto-kun? No… what's unforgiveable is those bastards forcing us to give up our lives for them. What makes them so great un? Why don't we deserve to have a life of our own? Why can't we chase after our own dreams?" Deidara yelled back.

Tears began forming in Sakura's eyes. _I never really thought about that… A guardian really does give up everything don't they? Naruto… I'm such a burden to you, yet you protect me without a single complaint… Thank you…_

"Because… we're GUARDIANS! We protect the world by guarding the world's saviors! The celesti don't force us into giving up our lives for them. We do it because we choose to!"

"Hahahaha. Oh Naruto-kun, you're still such a child. Now then, are you fully in sage mode yet? I'm getting sick of this talking."

Naruto's toad-like eyes widened in surprise. _He knew I was just stalling for time to enter sage mode? What the hell? Why would he let me do that? Surely he's not that cocky. Does he not…_

"You look surprised. You're wondering why I would let you enter sage mode aren't you? What sense would it make for me to let you enter a mode where you could sense where each of my mines are?"

"What the…" Naruto stammered. _This doesn't make sense, he's purposefully giving up one of his biggest advantages in this fight. What am I missing… Ok… calm down. _Naruto used his sage-amplified sensing abilities to find all the mines.

"You really outdid yourself Deidara…" he said with what he hoped was a cocky smirk. "If my foot touches down anywhere over there, I'll be blown sky high."

"Oh so you figured that out un? That sage mode sure is impressive. So tell me Naruto-kun… what will you do?"

_I can throw four futon rasenshurikens at him… but I don't want to use that much of my chakra… I have a feeling I'm in for another fight after Deidara… And when he's that high in the air, he'll have plenty of time to dodge my rasenshurikens…_

"Ugh, enough standing around. I'm getting bored! Let's get started, ya?" Deidara yelled as he sent a flurry of clay birds at Naruto.

Naruto's hands flashed through a few quick seals as he took in a deep breath. "Futon: Renkudan!"

The spiky-haired blonde's air bullet tore through the clay birds.

Sakura watched the battle filled with worry. This was the first time pink-haired celesti saw her guardian enter a true fight.

_Please be safe Naruto…_

_

* * *

_

Erk! Cliffhanger! My apologies. In case you can't tell, the action in this story is about to pick up =P Anywho, thanks for reading and please do review =)_  
_

Jutsu list:

Futon: Renkudan- Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet

Stay tuned for next time! Deidara vs. Naruto!


	3. Deception

Welcome to chapter 3! (Apparently I accidentally uploaded "The Sakura Ball" instead of chapter 3... So this one is the REAL chapter 3... my bad) =P

As always, I appreciate the favorites/follows/reviews!

Shout out to everyone who reviewed since last time: cmcwiki, Ventidus, Echo Uchiha, TheRealLifeAlucard, Kyubi Sama, Goddess of Night Eternal faith, Serenity Namikaze, SasMitoyomi, Footster26

* * *

cmcwiki: hahahaha. /e blushes. Don't tell Deidara that, he might make me go boom =P Glad you like it so far!

Ventidus: Np! And I'm honored, glad you like the story so far =)

Echo Uchiha: =)

TheRealLifeAlucard: Lol. Yea... sorry. I sort of went and did it again this chapter too =/ My apologies! Hope you like chapter 3!

Kyubi Sama: Thanks! And she's doing a pretty decent job... for now! /shifty eyes

Goddess of Night Eternal faith: Hehe, thanks! Glad you're enjoying the story so far! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as well!

Serenity Namikaze: WOOT! An author's favorite gift =) Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

SasMitoyomi: There's a few hints about Naruto's awesome attack, but we won't be actually seeing it for quite some time... at least that's the plan for now! Glad you enjoy the story so far =)

Footster26: Thanks! Enjoy the update =)

* * *

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and would use some of my money to buy my own personal helicopter which I would use to harass all of my enemies with a string of fly by insults.

Now onwards to the show. Please do enjoy "Guardian"- Chapter 3: Deception

* * *

BOOM!

One of Deidara's explosives went off, sending Naruto flying backwards a little.

_Damn it… I need to calm down. How can I beat him? He's too high for me to reach, and I can't back away or else I'll put Sakura in danger. I can only maintain sage mode for 12 more minutes, I need to finish this before then…_

The explosive master threw a series of small spider-like bombs at Naruto.

"Futon: daitopa!" Naruto shot a powerful gust of wind at the explosives blowing them backwards.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" a shadow clone appeared and threw Naruto at Deidara.

"Haha, oh Naruto-kun. That won't work, you're not mobile enough in the air!" the blonde explosive master taunted as he dodged the incoming Naruto.

The sapphire eyed guardian quickly summoned another shadow clone, which flung him straight at Deidara. As Naruto neared the rogue guardian, he summoned another shadow clone to send him flying towards Deidara even quicker, hoping to catch the explosive artist off guard with the speed increase.

Deidara simply created a long centipede which leaped at the guardian. Naruto swore, and used a shadow clone to dodge the opposing blonde's attack. Landing outside the minefield, the whiskered boy looked up at his opponent.

_Damnit, even using my shadow clones to keep me in the air isn't working well enough. I can't get close enough…_

The spiky-haired blonde threw a three-pronged kunai into the ground. _Now I won't need to worry about summoning a clone to get me away if things get tough. I can focus solely on the offensive and use the hirashin for defense._

"Giving up already un?" Deidara sneered.

"Katon: gokyaku no jutsu" was Naruto's reply as he shot a giant fireball at his enemy, which Deidara easily dodged.

Naruto summoned a clone which sent him hurtling towards the pony-tailed artist. Again, Deidara easily flew out of the way of the whiskered guardian's attack, and sent another flurry of small explosive birds at him.

"Katon: hosenka no jutsu!" Naruto's volley of small fireballs intercepted Deidara's explosives and a few even managed to hit the bird that the explosive specialist was perched on. Summoning another clone, Naruto had it again throw himself at the former guardian.

"Futon: kaiten shuriken!" Six shuriken began floating around Naruto as he used his wind chakra to spin them. Deidara began flying out of range.

"Shuriken kage bunshin no jutsu!" The guardian yelled, as hundreds of now wind infused shurikens poofed into existence. The whiskered blonde sent his deadly shuriken army at the demolitions specialist.

"Kuso!" Deidara swore. He dodged what he could, but the clay bird he was riding on was destroyed, and the pony-tailed blonde himself now had two holes in his arms where the chakra infused shurikens ripped straight through his body.

_Looks like it didn't matter hmm! That took too much time to set up for you Naruto!_ Deidara watched as the guardian fell closer to his mine field. The whiskered boy was too busy focusing on guiding his shuriken to summon a shadow clone to get him out of danger.

Just as Naruto was about to hit the ground, he disappeared in a flash, reappearing a short distance behind Deidara.

"RASENGAN!" the boy yelled as he thrust a newly formed spiral sphere of chakra at the artist. Deidara barely dodged and leapt back to put some distance between himself and the blonde boy.

Both blondes stared each other down. Naruto's toad-like eyes were alert, waiting for his opponent to make any kind of move, looking for any sort of mistake to pounce on.

"Not bad Naruto. But we're just getting started. I haven't even begun to show you my beautiful art yet!" Deidara crooned, as white gunk began to seep from his hands.

The gunk formed into two grotesque looking humanoid creatures who charged Naruto. Naruto dodged a swipe from the first one and cut it in half with his wind chakra covered fist. Not looking back, the whiskered guardian quickly dispatched of the second one by slicing its head off.

A clay foot caught Naruto in the side, sending the guardian skidding to the side a foot. Startled toad-like eyes widened when they saw now four clay beings attacking him.

_Kuso… When I sliced them in half they just reformed into more of clay creatures…_ Naruto dispersed the wind chakra flowing around his fists.

Deidara watched the scene with a smirk, a trail of clay going from his palms to each of the clay abominations he had created. _Sorry Itachi, but it looks like I'm going to "accidentally" kill Naruto. There's no way someone like him can beat my art!_

Naruto's mind was working furiously to try to figure out a way to beat the "works of art" that were currently trying to kill him. _I could use the rasenshuriken, but that would use more chakra than I'm currently willing to use…_

The toad-eyed boy cut through a few here and there, solely on instinct as he tried to come up with a solution, and was soon squaring off against at least 40 small clay creatures. Naruto leapt into the trees hoping to use his mobility against the small creations, but was caught off guard as one clay creature attached itself to his back.

The guardian tried to pull it off, but was quickly overwhelmed as the rest of Deidara's "art" attached itself to him.

"And now for the best part!" Deidara yelled. "Behold my beautiful artistic explosion!"

"Senpo: kaze no bakuhatsu!" All of the surrounding wind suddenly seemed to be pulled to the young sage's body, causing the trees to sway as the air swept through them and to the guardian. Before Deidara could detonate his creations, a large explosion of wind burst forth from Naruto's body destroying the clay creatures.

"Kuso…" the blonde muttered. _That technique used up more nature chakra than I wanted. Using that technique will take two minutes off the duration that I can hold sage mode…_

"Not bad Naruto, just what one would expect of a sage!" Deidara complimented with a cruel smile. "But as I said before, I've only begun to show you my art. I think I've shown you enough from my C1 techniques, now let's move onto the truly beautiful C2 techniques!" More white gunk began falling out of not just Deidara's hands, but mouth as well, and formed into a large clay dragon.

"Ah my C2 dragon. Such a great piece of art don't you think hmm?" Deidara taunted, as he leapt onto its back.

Naruto rushed forward, not wanting to let Deidara get off the ground, one hand surrounded by wind chakra, and the other by fire.

"Senpo: kaze-en no dangan!" Naruto shot a powerful wind and fire bullet towards Deidara as he began to lift from the ground on his dragon. To Naruto's displeasure, the dragon gave one giant flap of its wings and quickly shot into the air dodging his quick and deadly attack.

"Not good enough Naruto!" The demolitions specialist taunted, as his dragon opened its mouth. A smaller dragon popped out, and shot after Naruto at an incredible speed. The guardian hirashed to the kunai he had thrown near the beginning of their battle to dodge.

The boy's toad-like eyes widened in surprise as the small dragon changed course and headed straight towards him.

_This is like some sort of heat seeking missile…_ The whiskered blonde dodged, but the dragon missile again headed toward him. _It's corralling me towards the minefield. Damnit… he's combining precision air strikes with explosives on the ground, all while he's safely out of attack range._

The guardian turned toward the pursuing dragon missile. "Katon: gokyaku no jutsu!" The giant fireball he sent flying at the dragon was enough to incinerate before it could do any damage.

Naruto turned his eyes upwards to where Deidara was perched on his dragon just in time to see it open its mouth to let another dragon missile out.

"Kuso…" the blonde boy muttered as he prepared himself for another attack.

* * *

Sakura watched her guardian dodge what appeared to be mini dragon missiles that were being launched out of the large dragon's mouth that Deidara was currently perched on far up in the air. To make matters worse, the whiskered boy was still losing blood from his exposed back.

She was proud of Naruto, as she watched him use incredible power to woundDeidara and destroy his bird, and then to defeat the small clay army the former guardian sent after him. But now it just seemed like the young guardian was dodging, occasionally destroying a missile with a giant fireball here and there. He looked like he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"You look pretty worried." A man with white hair, and a triple bladed scythe on his back said, startling the pink-haired celesti.

Sakura leapt back, and entered her taijutsu stance that her father taught her.

"Who are you?"

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you. My name's Hidan. I'm a guardian." The man named Hidan replied while holding his hands up.

"If you're a guardian where's your charge?" Sakura asked with an eyebrow raised.

Hidan's eyes turned down towards the ground. "My charge… was killed. I was heading back to the academy so I could be assigned a new one."

Sakura instantly relaxed her stance. "Oh I'm so sorry! Normally I would talk to you more, but I need to focus on this fight. The spiky-haired boy is my guardian, and he's hurt right now. Wait… you're a guardian! Will you please help him?"

Hidan chuckled. "You're a strange celesti… Most don't really care about their guardians. But I'm sorry, I cannot help your guardian in this fight. Those two are fighting on a whole different level than I'm on. All I would do is get in the way."

The pinkette frowned as her worried eyes focused on the bloodied back of Naruto. _Damnit… I hate this. I can't do anything to help him…_

"I notice that you're just standing there. You don't seem to be commanding your guardian at all. So I take it you haven't unlocked his hidden strength yet?" Hidan speculated.

"Hidden strength?"

"Don't tell me he didn't tell you about it? Tch, what a selfish guardian. Each guardian has a seal that represses some of their strength. A celesti can activate their guardian's seal to unlock this power when they want to."

"That sounds too good to be true." Sakura said in a suspicious tone. _I don't know why, but I just don't trust this guy…_

"Haha! Ah very good. You care about your guardian and you're smart! That Naruto sure lucked out when he got you!"

"Before… you didn't seem to know Naruto… And now you suddenly do." The pink-haired girl entered her taijutsu stance. _This guy said he's too weak for Naruto's fight, so he must not be too strong. I don't need to distract Naruto, I'll take care of him myself._

Sakura withdrew the three-pronged kunai. "Why don't you tell me who you really are…"

"Oh my, you would pull a kunai out on me? I'm simply trying to help you here. You want to save Naruto don't you? Activate the seal!" Hidan innocently replied.

"What's the drawback to the seal. If there were no drawbacks, then Naruto would've told me about it right away." Sakura growled.

"Such faith in your guardian! The 'drawback' is that you will have complete control over him. He will be forced to obey your every command."

"That's terrible! I don't want Naruto to be my slave!" Sakura yelled.

Hidan broke out into a sadistic laughter. "Oh my girl, that's too rich. You don't want Naruto to be your slave? Foolish girl, he already is! His life belongs to you; it is yours to do with as you please!"

"NO! His life belongs to himself. I won't control him… I want him to be happy!"

Hidan burst into more crazed laughter. "His life belongs to himself? He exists solely to protect you, and you think his life belongs to himself?"

"But… he…"

"Naruto belongs to you. His life was forfeit as soon as he entered the academy, and was yours to do with as you please the second you became his charge. Activate the seal, unlock Naruto's hidden strength, and save both him and yourself." Hidan commanded with an annoyed look on his face.

_Naruto… have I really…_

"What are you waiting for pinky? Activate the seal! I'm not going to save you once Naruto gets killed by Deidara over there."

Sakura's face suddenly hardened. "Deidara… how do you know his name?"

"Well… we were in the academy together…"

"So I'm supposed to believe that every guardian knows each other…?" Sakura asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion.

_Itachi told me just to get her to activate the Eri Seal… But the end goal is to free Naruto from his charge, which means killing her… I'm sure he won't be that upset… Besides, Jashin would be happy with her!_

"It would've been easier for you. But this way is better for me. You'll make a great sacrifice to Jashin." Hidan taunted with a cruel smirk as he grabbed the scythe from his back.

Sakura gripped the kunai in her hand tightly, and tensed her muscles.

"Don't underestimate me, I've been trained in taijutsu."

"HEHEHAHA! You call THAT pathetic stance taijutsu? There are so many openings to exploit I'm having trouble deciding which one to attack!"

Fear started to seep into Sakura's body as her legs began to tremble. _I have a feeling this guy is a lot stronger than he originally let on… Damnit… I don't want to call on Naruto. He's already fighting that Deidara guy…_ Sakura let out a frustrated sigh.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

A clone threw Naruto backwards to dodge another dragon missile. The missile hit the unfortunate clone.

"Katon: hosenka no jutsu!" Naruto yelled shooting a volley of small fireballs at Deidara, who dodged them all.

Deidara responded by sending another dragon missile at the young sage.

_This is getting me nowhere. I only have 4 minutes left in sage mode, and I keep losing more and more blood. I could try hitting him with a rasenshuriken, but that dragon is too fast… He'll easily dodge it. _Naruto's hands touched the hilt of his tantos.

_I could use that technique… But that would destroy Sakura's fantasy. I need to think of another way of to take him out quickly. First I need to deal with the minefield… If I set it off, the explosion might reach Sakura…_

"NARUTO!" the familiar voice of his charge yelled out.

Toad-like eyes found Sakura, who was trembling before a man with a strange triple-bladed scythe.

"KUSO! How did I miss that guy?"

_I need to distract Deidara…_

Naruto summoned a shadow clone and withdrew another three-pronged kunai. The guardian's clone ran towards the minefield as Naruto threw his kunai so it flew between the scythe wielder and Sakura.

He flashed to the kunai in Sakura's hand as his clone set off the minefield. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around his startled charge, and flashed the two to the kunai he had just thrown.

"Naruto?"

"Sorry Sakura… I didn't see that guy."

"I don't care about that, are you ok baka?"

"I'm fine…" the guardian looked behind him to see the white-haired man running towards them with Deidara flying above him.

"Kuso…" the blonde muttered.

"Why don't we run? You can use the hirashin to get us out of here right?" Sakura asked in a worried voice.

_I can take care of that guy quickly enough, and now that I'm not fighting over a minefield I can fight Deidara better…_

"No need to run Sakura." Naruto said in a calm voice as he summoned two shadow clones. He held out his hands and with the clones helped, formed two rasenshurikens.

"What… are those?" Sakura gasped as she stared at the swirling humming spheres of chakra.

"One of my most powerful attacks. Sakura, I'm going to need your help. I'm going to take out the white-haired guy first, when I hit him with one of these, I want you to throw that kunai towards the guy on the dragon up there. I can't maintain my sage mode much longer, so we're just going to end this fight now."

"H..hai." Sakura stammered as she stared at the bloodied back of her guardian.

Hidan came to a stop in front of Naruto, Deidara stopped in the air above them.

"Oh my, those two balls don't look like they would feel nice!" Hidan sneered.

"I don't know who you are, but you shouldn't have gone after Sakura. Now you're going to lose your life."

Naruto charged forward, and when he was a foot away from Hidan launched one of his rasenshurikens at the white-haired maniac. The man began to scream in pain as thousands of tiny microscopic wind blades attacked his very cells.

"SAKURA NOW!"

The pinkette flung the three-pronged kunai up towards Deidara who moved to dodge it. Before he could get too far away Naruto had already flashed to the kunai, and hurled his remaining rasenshuriken at the explosives specialist.

Deidara barely dodged the deadly sphere, but his eyes widened in shock as the sphere expanded and exploded, catching him in its deadly grasp. Deidara screamed as wind blades tore him apart.

Naruto barely managed to land, now out of sage mode. Panting heavily, the guardian tried to steady himself.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed as she put an arm beneath him to steady him.

"Don't worry Sakura… you're safe now…"

"I don't care about that baka! You're hurt!"

"Of course I am… it's my job. Sakura… Those last two attacks took a lot out of me… I'm going to use the last of my strength to get us back to Konoha… Wait there for your next…"

"SHUT UP! You're going to be ok!" Sakura sobbed as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Hehe… I was lucky to get a charge like you. Thank you Sakura." The guardian allowed a true smile to grace his face as he embraced his charge. "Now then, it's time to go…" Naruto began mustering the last of his chakra, focusing on Konoha in his mind.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That really hurt you bastard!"

Naruto's exhausted sapphire eyes widened in shock, temporarily forgetting about his plan of escape.

As the smoke cleared, a surprisingly alive Hidan lay on the ground. "I can't move my body at all! What the hell kind of attack was that? You little prick, as soon as I can move I'm going to slowly kill you!"

"How… how are you…"

"I can't die you idiot!"

"You're immortal… what the hell…"

"KAKUZU GET OUT HERE AND PUT ME BACK TOGETHER!" Hidan bellowed.

"You weren't supposed to attack the girl. You got what you deserved for going against the plan." A tall dark-skinned man with strange red and green eyes called as he appeared from the shadows. A black mask covered his face.

"Oh shut up and put me back together already."

The man known as Kakuzu shot what appeared to be hair out of his arms, and covered Hidan. In a matter of minutes the fuming silver haired man stood up.

"Kuso…"

"Naruto… let's get out of here."

"Stupid girl, you're not going to escape. We will hunt you to the ends of the earth!" Hidan yelled.

_I'm sorry Sakura… but your dream ends now…_ Naruto sadly thought as he drew his two tanto.

"Sorry Sakura… but I can't allow these two to live. My very soul is your shield…"

Naruto closed his eyes, and held the dual tantos over his chest. He began muttering something incoherently. The blonde's eyes flashed open, and were now blood red.

"KINJUTSU: BURADDOEN…"

"Tch… that desperate already dobe? Thank god I didn't get stuck with you as my guardian…" called a young man, with raven black hair that framed his pale face.

"Sa…Sasuke?" Naruto stammered.

"Naruto-kun… I had heard you mastered sage mode, yet here I find you about to use that technique. How very pathetic." An older raven-haired man said, with lines under his red eyes.

"I…Itachi… wh…"

"ITACHI? What are you doing here?" Hidan yelled with an annoyed voice.

"The council has requested I come to Naruto-kun's aid, so here I am. If you two value your lives, you will flee instantly." Itachi lied to his startled subordinates.

A confused Hidan opened his mouth to say something, but Itachi suddenly flashed in front of him.

"Tsukuyumi."

Hidan was tied to a cross, Itachi standing before him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" the Jashin worshiper screamed.

"Calm down. We need Naruto to join us on his own free will. He's still righteous, and believes in the guardian system. If we kill his charge, he will never join us."

"Then let's just kill him and be done with it!"

Itachi rewarded Hidan's outbreak by stabbing him with a sword, causing him to grunt in pain.

"YOU BASTARD! THAT HURT!"

"I already told you, Naruto could be a powerful ally. He's already so powerful at such a young age; once we get him to join us we will be able to destroy the guardians. You and Kakuzu are going to fight me, and are going to 'overwhelm' me. Sasuke will convince his charge to active the Eri Seal. With the seal activated, he will begin to resent the girl, and eventually will welcome our help in killing her."

"Fine… whatever. Just get me out of here!"

"Of course. It's time for you to surprise me by "breaking out" of my Tsukuyumi." Itachi said with a slight sneer.

"What? That's impossible, it's impossible to break Tsukuymi…" Hidan sputtered

"Of course it is. But I'm going to let you out of it now, and you're going to act like you broke it, much to my surprise. Understood?"

"Ah… playing mind games! Fine fine, get me out of here already!"

Itachi stabbed Hidan again. "You should learn to show a little more respect to those that are superior to you."

"I will enjoy sacrificing you to Jashin you bastard!" Hidan roared.

Itachi smirked. "Of course you will." The Uchiha made a hand sign, and both Hidan and Itachi were back in the real world.

Itachi let out a "startled" gasp as Hidan took a swipe at him with his triple bladed scythe.

* * *

"What the…" Sasuke muttered.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, who was again supporting an exhausted Naruto.

"My brother… just caught that guy in his Tsukuyumi. It's an unbreakable genjutsu, and yet somehow that guy broke out of it. These guys might be too much for even Itachi to handle. Dobe, he's going to need your help." Sasuke said in a "shocked" tone, playing his part perfectly.

"NO WAY! Naruto's seriously hurt. In his condition he won't last very long against those guys." Sakura protested. Her guardian flashed her a grateful smile.

"It's alright Sakura… I can still fight just fine." The whiskered boy removed himself from Sakura's support, and slowly walked forward, forming a rasengan in his hand. "These bastards are going to regret coming after you."

"Naruto stop! You've lost a lot of blood, and you said yourself that you didn't have much strength left!" Sakura tried ordering.

"Sorry Sakura… this is why I exist." The blonde charged forward and caught Kakuzu off guard with a rasengan.

"One down…" Naruto muttered as he formed another rasengan. His eyes widened in surprise when Kakuzu yelled,

"Futon: Atsugai!" the guardian swore as he dodged a tornado like mass, but was blown off his feet when it exploded.

"What the hell?" Naruto gasped as his sapphire eyes stared into the strange red and green eyes of a perfectly fine Kakuzu, who now had one of his five masks broken. "What are you, a second immortal?"

"I've been around for hundreds of years brat. Don't think you can kill me." Kakuzu called out in a monotone voice.

"Damnit… Itachi… got any ideas? I already hit that white-haired guy with a rasenshuriken and he survived. If I use that technique I can use my bl…"

"That technique will kill you Naruto. I was sent here to keep you alive. You will not be using it." Itachi interrupted.

"I don't have much chakra left! I don't think I even have enough to form another rasengan powerful enough to be lethal to an ordinary opponent, much less these guys." The blonde protested.

"Then back out of this fight for now Naruto. I still have plenty of chakra. Just because they can break out of my Tsukuyumi doesn't mean they can beat me. Sit down and gather nature chakra so you can enter sage mode again."

"In my present state it's going to take me 6 minutes to enter sage mode, are you sure you can hold them off for that long?"

Itachi smirked at the young guardian. "These two will probably be dead by then. Now go meditate in front of our charges, you'll be the last line of defense for both of them."

"Hai!" Naruto said, before walking to the two celesti, and sat down, back to them.

"I don't know how you broke out of my Tsukuyumi earlier, but don't think you can again." Itachi calmly called.

"You have a lot of confidence in that particular genjutsu, when it has already failed you once. Yet you are arrogant enough to try it again? Come back and fight me in another hundred years boy, you might have enough battle sense then to stand a chance." Kakuzu sneered, although still slightly confused why he was fighting one of his leaders.

The Uchiha "guardian" suddenly flashed in front his two "enemies" smashing their heads together so he could catch them both in his eyes at the same time.

"Tsukuyumi." He muttered smugly.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing dobe? I already told you that Itachi can't handle both of them!" Sasuke yelled.

"I don't have enough chakra right now to help. Your brother won't allow me to use that technique, so the only option left is for me to re-enter sage mode." Naruto serenely replied, as he began drawing nature chakra into him.

"Damnit dobe, if you weren't so damn weak we wouldn't be in this mess!" Sasuke spat.

SLAP!

A fuming Sakura was standing over a crumpled Sasuke, who was unable to hide his shock.

"STOP TALKING DOWN TO NARUTO LIKE THAT!" the pinkette raged. "He already's fought and defeated a powerful opponent, it's not his fault he's too worn down too fight two more! If he tries fighting anymore he'll die!" Tears began gathering in Sakura's eyes.

"He's a guardian, that's what…"

"That's quite enough Sasuke." Naruto interrupted, his voice still serene, but now with a hint of anger. "I won't have you arguing with my charge. Your brother is the one who insisted I re-enter sage mode, so shut up and watch the fight."

Sasuke's face contorted into a look of anger. "Don't you dare talk to me like that dobe!"

_OH THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO MAKE THIS STUPID BRAT PAY. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TALK TO MY NARUTO LIKE THAT! _"SHANAROO!" Sakura yelled to finish her thought, rearing her fist back, fully intending to pound the younger Uchiha senseless.

"Sakura calm down. He's Itachi's charge, and Itachi is currently helping us. It would be rude to beat the crap out of Sasuke while Itachi is distracted by two of our enemies." The blonde guardian's calm voice soothed Sakura, who instead elected to sit down behind him.

_God his back looks terrible. I can't believe he's still conscious… _Her slender hands began moving towards his back. _I need to pick this chainmail out of his skin before it gets infected._

"Stop Sakura." Naruto interrupted, his voice still calm and serene. "You won't have time to get it all before I rejoin the fight.

"But Naruto…"

"Don't worry Sakura. At this point, it won't make much of a difference if you pull it out now, or 15 minutes later when this fight has finished." _Even though I won't be alive after this fight is finished…_

Sakura sighed, but still felt that something was off with her guardian. "How do you know this fight is going to be over in 15 minutes?" she questioned with a suspicious tone.

_Because it's only going to take me another 4 to enter sage mode, which I will then only be able to maintain for 10 minutes in my current state. Which won't be enough even with Itachi's power, so I will need to use that technique, to finish both of those immortals off in just a minute…_ The blonde thought wryly. _But I can't tell you that Sakura._

"It's just a guess."

"If you're convinced you're going to have to use that technique then just do it already dobe." Sasuke spat, easily figuring out how Naruto knew when the battle would be finished by."

"What technique is he talking about Naruto?" Sakura asked in a slightly fearful tone. If Itachi was willing to fight two powerful enemies to prevent Naruto from using this technique, then it must not be good for her blonde.

"It's… just another technique Sakura. Nothing for you to worry about." _Damnit Sasuke! She's not going to be able to spend much more time in her fantasy before the ugly reality smacks her in the face. Why'd you have to go and try to make what little time she has left in this fantasy even shorter..._ The sage thought furiously.

A feeling of dread filled Sakura's stomach, and her facial expression easily gave away her fear. "Naruto... you're still going to be here when this fight is over right? With me?"

"I'll always be with you Sakura." Naruto replied quickly, hoping that would alleviate all her fears.

_That sounds like something someone would say before they were about to die…Naruto…_ Tears began falling down Sakura's cheeks, as she numbly nodded at her guardian.

* * *

"What the hell is the meaning of this Itachi? Why am I here again?" Hidan demanded.

Itachi rewarded him by stabbing him with a sword. "Don't question me Hidan. You may have been here before, but Kakuzu has not. He has no idea what's going right now."

"Ah I figured you weren't really defending that kid. But I don't see why you're going through all of the bravado of making him think you're his ally. Right now he's weak, we could easily kill him." Kakuzu mused in his gruff monotone voice.

"We are not going to kill Naruto. Nor are we going to kill his charge. If we kill Naruto then we lose a future powerful ally. If we kill his charge now then he will come after us with everything he's got. We're simply going to get his charge to activate the Eri Seal."

Hidan sighed, having already heard the speech.

"Ah… Once he's enslaved by his charge he'll start to resent her, then will welcome our help when we come to free him." Kakuzu said as he caught on.

"Exactly."

"But how exactly are we going to force his charge to activate the seal?" Kakuzu asked. "I watched her eyes while he was fighting us. Those eyes weren't worried about her own safety, they were worried about his. She's not like any other celesti I've ever encountered."

"You're right, she cares deeply for Naruto, and that's what we're going to use to get her activate the seal. Naruto should be re-entering sage mode any minute now. Once he does, the two of you are going to "break" out of Tsukuyumi. I will pretend that I'm nearly out of chakra, and collapse…"

"Now now now, hold on a second!" Hidan brashly interrupted. "You and Naruto know each other pretty well from back in the academy right? And, in sage mode his chakra sensing abilities are greatly enhanced. I think he would be able to figure out that you're faking, oh great Itachi-sama." Hidan said with a sarcastic grin.

Itachi again stabbed him with a sword.

"Learn your place Hidan. I will exploit the bond Naruto and I once shared. I can mask my chakra well enough that he won't notice. If he were to specifically scan me he would know I'm faking, but he trusts me enough where he wouldn't even think too." The red-eyed Uchiha answered.

"Now, when we leave here, you two will fight Naruto. You will beat him badly, but don't kill him. Just beat him bad enough to where he thinks he has no chance. Make sure to threaten his charge's life as well. Once his sage mode runs out, he will go to use his Kinjutsu: buraddoenjeruririsu, at which point Sasuke will convince Naruto's charge to activate the seal in order to save Naruto's life."

A grin could be seen underneath Kakuzu's mask. "Ah, a good plan Itachi. We're ready."

"He's finally ready. You know what to do."

Kakuzu nodded while a wicked grin formed on Hidan's face. "This is going to be fun!"

* * *

Toad-like eyes shot open as Naruto stood. _I've got 10 minutes to figure out a way to beat these guys before I have to use my Kinjutsu:_ _buraddoenjeruririsu_. _So that means I have 10 more minutes to try to protect Sakura from reality…_

"Naruto?" Sakura softly said. The whiskered guardian continued staring forward, lost in his own thoughts.

_Hmmm, looks like Itachi has them both trapped in his Tsukuyumi. _

"Naruto!" Sakura said louder.

_Good, maybe I can figure out a way to kill them while he has them trapped. I already know the rasenshuriken doesn't work on the white haired man, but it might work on the…_

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts, as his body was roughly turned around. Before the blonde guardian could react, a soft pair of lips was pressing into his.

Shocked yellow toad-like eyes stared into desperate and sad emeralds.

* * *

Whew. Glad to finally be done with that chapter! I never thought I would struggle so much with Deidara in a fight... But after a couple fo re-writes I think it turned out alright. Anywho... I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please do review! See you next week... or before. Depending how quick I can push the next chapter out!

Jutsu List:

Futon: Daitoppa- Wind Release: Great Breakthrough—simple wind technique that creates a gust of wind.

Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu- Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu- Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique- small fireballs are shot out of the users mouth, in every direction burning the enemy. The flames can be controlled with chakra.

Futon: Kaiten Shuriken- Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken- infuses wind based chakra into bladed weapons, the user can then manipulate the blades in a spinning matter to attack the target.

Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu- Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

Senpo: Kaze no Bakuhatsu- Sage Art: Wind explosion- Naruto uses Nature chakra to gather the wind around his body and then suddenly sends it outwards in a quick explosion.

Senpo: Kaze-en no Dangan- Sage Art: Wind Flame Bullet- Naruto uses nature chakra to combine wind and fire chakra into a fast and powerful bullet.

Futon: Atsugai- Wind Release: Pressure Damage- A tornado-like mass is compressed until it has a very high density and is then released. The wind pressure is raised to its highest limit, and once the technique hits the target, the resulting blast sweeps everyone off their feet.

Kinjutsu: Buraddoenjerurirīsu- Forbidden Technique: Blood Angel Release- Naruto's "ultimate jutsu." Not much is known at this point as Naruto never talks about it. According to Itachi, the technique will kill Naruto. Naruto's tantos are required to finish the jutsu, and his eyes appear to turn blood red when using it.

Note- I only include jutsus that I don't think people would be able to recognize (for example, the rasenshuriken and hirashin are never included in my lists). If there's ever a jutsu I write in, that isn't on the list please do feel free to ask =)


	4. Betrayal

Chapter 4 is FINALLY here! So sorry about the delay, it's been a hectic 2 weeks. But it's here!

As always, I appreciate the favorites/follows/reviews!

Shout out to everyone who reviewed since last time:holydemon90, Ventidus, Echo Uchiha, aej1085, Footster26, Goddess of night eternal faith, TheRealLifeAlucard, Serenity Namikaze, Demonkid, DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles, Blood Seraph

* * *

holydemon90 and Ventidus: Again, thanks for pointing out that I uploaded "The Sakura Ball" instead of the 3rd chapter. I'm still slightly embarrassed two weeks later!

Echo Uchiha: =)

aej1085: Thanks! I'm glad you like it =)

Footster26: I will keep writing! Sorry this update took so long, I hope you enjoy it!

Goddess of night eternal faith: Hehe, sorry for the long delay for the update. Ya, none of that "Sakura getting over feelings for Sasuke" crap in my AU fic =P

TheRealLifeAlucard: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I swear I don't keep meaning to do this... but I kinda end this chapter on another cliffhanger... My bad =P

Serenity Namikaze: Glad you're enjoying it so far =) More will be explained in future chapters, but for now I'll say that Itachi never followed the rules of a typical guardian, and he was strong enough to where the council had to go along with it. I'm... well Naruto... is trying to keep Sakura happy and naive for as long as possible! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Demonkid: Thanks for the critique. I'm very lax on my grammar for writing fanfics, but I do try to adhere by the most basic rules. I read each chapter over at least twice before posting it. I'll have to be more careful with my proofreading in the future. Again, appreciate the critique, and hopefully the story will continue to get better. Enjoy the new chapter!

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles: I have never played BioShock and had to google "Big Daddy" but after reading the wiki, I agree! Glad you're enjoying the story so far =)

Blood Seraph: Hehe. I can see why the name of his technique would appeal to you! I'm trying to push through the intro right now to get to the "grand roaming adventure" part of the story... I'll keep an eye out in future updates for "rushing." Thanks for the critique, hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and would use some of my money to build my very own intersect and become a super spy like Chuck Bartowski, and get married to a super hot super spy.

Anyways... you've waited long enough. Please do enjoy "Guardian"- Chapter 4: Betrayal

* * *

Regularly, Naruto would know that what he was doing was wrong on all levels; his currently blank mind however did not. Thoughtlessly the whiskered guardian returned the kiss his charge had instigated. As the two kissed, warmth flooded through Naruto's body, causing him to forget about the pain, and exhaustion that had plagued him just moments before. All he and his body could focus on was Sakura.

The two continued kissing for what seemed like years to them, but in reality wasn't much more than a minute. They pulled apart, both panting heavily. Sakura's face was adorned with a sweet smile, while Naruto's face was full of shock.

"Sorry about that Naruto… I just didn't want to regret anything. If I lost you… without getting the chance to kiss you and show you that I actually care about you… I wouldn't be able to live myself." Sakura said in a soft voice.

The whiskered boy numbly nodded as he tried to kick start his mind. His desire to protect his charge's innocence suddenly flared through his body. _I can't die yet. I will protect your dream Sakura…chan._ Without a word Naruto turned to the battle, his mind trying to come up with a way to defeat two immortals in 10 minutes without using his ultimate technique.

The powerful sage began taking steps towards Hidan and Kakuzu who were still trapped in Itachi's Tsukuyumi.

"Naruto" Sakura called after him, causing the boy to stop and turn his head towards his charge. "Please don't die; I want you to be here with me. Promise me you'll survive."

"I promise you Sakura-chan… that I will protect you and try my very best to survive." The boy replied with a foxy grin and a thumbs up.

Sakura smiled warmly at her guardian. _He called me Sakura-chan! _

Naruto walked calmly into the battle. _I'm going to end this quick while Itachi has them stuck in the Tsukuyumi… somehow…_

_

* * *

_

Sakura watched her guardian's bloody back as he calmly walked towards two powerful men intent on killing her. Her lips were tingling, and her body felt warm. That kiss had been absolutely incredible, and she felt so reassured by Naruto's words.

"Hhn, well that was different." Sasuke's indifferent voice brought Sakura out of her thoughts.

"Whether it's different or normal… I don't care. I like Naruto and I'm not going to ignore my feelings because of some stupid titles."

Much to Sakura's surprise, Sasuke smiled at her words.

"It's nice to see another celesti like me…" the younger Uchiha's voice was so soft it was nearly a whisper.

"…You want to kiss your brother?" The pinkette deadpanned with a sweat-drop.

"WHAT? No. But I care about my brother, just like you care about Naruto. I've met so many other celesti who don't give a crap about their guardians… It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who's not like them."

For the first time since meeting Sasuke, Sakura actually smiled at him before turning to watch her beloved guardian fight.

Once her focus was off him, the raven-haired boy smirked. _Good, now that she thinks we're kindred spirits she'll trust me more. _

_

* * *

_

Itachi suddenly let out a gasp, as Kakuzu and Hidan "miraculously" broke out of his Tsukuyumi. Kakuzu kicked Itachi in the side, sending the elder Uchiha crashing into the ground. The red-eyed guardian attempted to stand as Naruto reached his side.

"S..sorry Naruto. Looks like you're going to have to take it from here. I used up all my chakra trying to keep them from breaking Tsukuyumi. It's all on you now." Itachi wheezed before "passing out."

"I warned him against trying to use that genjutsu again. What a foolish boy." Kakuzu sneered as he focused his attention on the sage guardian.

"Well boy, it looks like you're the last one standing! I think Jashin will enjoy you!" Hidan jeered as he tightened his grip on his scythe.

_Kuso. I was really planning on having Itachi's help. I can't use my Buraddoenjeruririsu. I have to, and WILL protect Sakura-chan's dream. Now I just need to figure out a way to kill two immortals before sage mode runs out…_

"You already destroyed one of my hearts already boy, so I will make you a deal. Give up, and I will make your death quick and painless then take your heart." The masked man "offered."

The whiskered guardian's teeth mashed together. "Like I'll lose to you two." He growled.

"You'll regret that." Kakuzu sneered.

"Enough talking! LORD JASHIN IS ANXIOUS, I CAN FEEL IT!" Hidan suddenly yelled, throwing his scythe at Naruto.

The whiskered guardian easily dodged, and severed the cord with a wind chakra covered hand, but the scythe continued to fly towards the two celesti.

Naruto disappeared in a flash and reappeared with Hidan's scythe in hand.

"You bastard! Give that back, it's not yours!" The Jashin fanatic demanded, with an angry look on his face.

The blonde guardian gave no verbal reply, instead choosing to destroy the scythe with his wind chakra covered hands.

Hidan exploded in rage. "HOW DARE YOU! LORD JASHIN WILL ENSURE YOU PAY FOR THAT! YOUR DEATH WILL BE…urk!"

Naruto flashed in front of Hidan and interrupted the immortal with an elbow to the gut.

_Without his scythe that guy shouldn't be too much of a problem. This other guy… what the hell?_

Naruto's toad-like eyes widened in surprise as he watched Kakuzu's body, it seemed to be splitting open, thread leaking out. The four masks that were on his back fell off in a mass of thread.

_Those masks… they're beating… Kind of like a heart would…So that's what he meant earlier when I said I destroyed one of his hearts… _

"So… you're not truly immortal after all." The sage calmly called.

"You are correct, I'm better than an immortal." Kakuzu replied, as the masks took the shape of strange thread-like beasts. One instantly crumbled and died.

"So I've already taken one down. Looks like I only need to kill you four more times then."

"As if you could boy, I know you can't maintain your current form for long. I doubt you could destroy the rest of my hearts with whatever time you have left if we were fighting one on one. But we're not, it's a two on one fight. You don't stand a chance."

"DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME YOU BASTARD!" Naruto dodged Hidan's thrust of a black pike, and rewarding the silver-haired immortal's attempt by slicing the hand grasping the pike clean off, then kicking him straight in the chest, causing him to crash straight into a large rock.

"THAT FUCKING HURT!"

_Now I'm really outnumbered. There's still three masks remaining, plus that guy looks like he can still fight, and this white-haired nut job doesn't look like he's going to give up anytime soon…_

Naruto bit his thumb, and slammed his palm into the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A large puff of smoke appeared, hiding Naruto from Kakuzu and Hidan's side.

"Well if it isn't Minato's boy. You're already out of the academy eh? I'm not overly surprised after the boss told me about you." A booming baritone voice said from the smoke.

"Gamabunta… It's nice to finally meet you, my name is Naruto. I'm sorry this couldn't be under better circumstances." Naruto replied as the smoke cleared, revealing a giant rust colored toad wearing a blue vest with a pipe sticking out of its mouth. The toad put a webbed hand on the massive tanto on its hip.

"Don't worry about it kid. Your father was a good friend of mine and the boss took a liking to you during your sage training. I have no problems helping you out."

"Interesting. You can summon the toad boss himself." Kakuzu observed. "Impressive, but he won't be enough to save you boy."

Gamabunta snorted and drew his tanto. "I'm more than enough to deal with some pathetic bug like you. Let's do this Naruto."

"Hai!"

* * *

Sakura looked at her guardian with a look of pure awe as he stood confidently on the head of a giant toad. The pinkette was normally grossed out by toads, but seeing as how this giant one looked to be strong enough to defeat Naruto's opponents while keeping Naruto alive himself, she didn't mind it.

"Hhn, impressive." Sasuke grunted. "I knew he could summon toads, but I didn't realize he could summon the boss toad."

"Boss toad?"

"That toad that Naruto just summoned is named Gamabunta and he is the boss of all the toads. There are many different types of summons, but each summon has a massive boss. Boss summons require enormous amounts of chakra so it's rare to ever actually see one."

Sakura beamed in pride. "Well Naruto is pretty amazing."

"Apparently so…" Sasuke begrudgingly agreed.

_Damnit, this isn't good. With Gamabunta, he might be able to kill those two without having to use his blood angel release… This is going to make to convincing Sakura to activate the Eri Seal much more difficult… _

"Sakura… since you care so much about Naruto, I think you should know about his ultimate technique."

Curious emerald eyes tore away from Naruto to look into the onyx eyes of the younger Uchiha.

"I admit, I don't really know much about it myself. Naruto never talked about it. Itachi is really the only person who knows what it does exactly other than Naruto because he helped the dobe develop it…"

"Stop calling him dobe! His name is Naruto!" The pink-haired celesti growled.

"Right… from what Itachi has told me, in order to activate this technique, Naruto stabs his tantos into his chest."

"WHAT?" Sakura gasped. _He was holding his tantos over his chest just before Itachi and Sasuke arrived…_

"After that, I'm not really sure about the details of the technique, but Itachi did tell me that Naruto will die after using it. He doesn't use his tantos for anything else, so if you ever see him reaching for them, he is preparing to use that technique." The Uchiha celesti explained.

"Why are you telling me this…?" Sakura asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"Just like I don't want to lose Itachi, you don't want to lose Naruto. Now you'll be able to see when he's about to use his blood angel release and stop him from going through with it."

"How am I supposed to stop him? He's much stronger than me, and extremely stubborn." Sakura replied in a quiet and sad voice.

"The Eri Seal."

"That stupid seal again? I will never use that. I'm not going to enslave Naruto!" The pink-haired girl yelled.

"It's a terrible seal, I agree. But you have to ask yourself, would you rather Naruto be dead, or enslaved to you, but alive?"

Sakura's face lit up in understanding, causing the Uchiha to smirk.

"Enslaved and alive…" Sakura softly whispered as tears started to form. Her emerald eyes again found his onyx ones. "But I have no idea how to activate it if I need to."

Sasuke smiled. "It's really easy, I would tell you, but then I would accidentally activate Itachi's Eri Seal." The raven-haired boy pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil out of his shirt and began writing on it.

"Here you go. These are the instructions. Remember Sakura, if he reaches for his tantos, you need to activate the seal before it's too late."

"Hai… Thanks Sasuke."

"No problem Sakura."

_Now to wait for the dobe's hands to get near his tantos so she'll activate his seal. This girl is just way too easy to manipulate. It's only a matter of time until we're helping Naruto kill her…_

_

* * *

_

Naruto stared down at Kakuzu and his strange thread mask-wearing creatures from atop of Gamabunta's head. Hidan was still sitting where the sage kicked him earlier. The Jashin fanatic for some reason suddenly didn't seem overly interested in the fight and was more focused on staring at the stump where his hand used to be.

While Naruto and Kakuzu were both content to scope the other out, Gamabunta was not. The toad boss swung his massive blade down on Kakuzu who blocked with a black arm.

"Nani?" The massive toad boss grunted.

"He's pumping earth chakra throughout his body, making it hard as steel. Physical attacks aren't going to work on him Gamabunta. Let me deal with him, I have more ninjutsu in my arsenal than you do. You take care of those mask creatures." Naruto commanded, leaping from his perch on the toad's head.

"Alright kid, be careful." The battle toad took a swipe at the red-masked thread creature that looked like some sort of a tiger; the tiger-like being easily dodged and sent a volley of fireballs at the large toad.

"Sution: Teppodama!" Gamabunta bellowed, spitting out a large water bullet which engulfed the fireballs. The bullet smashed into the tiger-like creature sending it flying backwards. The being attempted to stand, but instead the mask cracked and the entity dissolved.

Kakuzu took the scene in with mild shock. "So this is the power of a boss summon."

Seeing that Kakuzu was briefly distracted, Naruto flashed behind him. "Senpo: odama rasengan!" The guardian thrust his giant rasengan into the now black back of his opponent, sending Kakuzu flying.

Much to Naruto's chagrin, Kakuzu stood up as if nothing had happened.

_Damnit, that Earth technique he's using is strong enough to protect him from my odama rasengan? If it can withstand such a powerful wind attack… _

"My offer still stands child. Give up now and I'll give you a quick and painless death before taking your heart."

"Tch, that was just a warm up. To be able to shrug off my oodama rasengan you would've had to use a lot of chakra. I have enough powerful ninjutsus that will wear you out quickly enough." The whiskered blonde confidently replied. "Actually, I have a counter offer for you. Why don't you give up now, and I'll make your deaths quick and painless."

Kakuzu smirked at the young sage. "Such a brash young child… You're going to regret turning down my offer."

Naruto responded by forming a quick series of hand signs. "Katon: Shoidan!" The guardian shot a fireball out of his mouth into the air. The ball fell towards Kakuzu in an arc, getting larger and larger as it flew through the air towards Kakuzu. The masked man calmly stood still as the ball hit him and exploded in a massive explosion.

"To be able to create that technique you must have mastered fire manipulation. A heart that can master both wind and fire manipulation… Yours will be truly useful." Kakuzu called from the bottom of the large crater Naruto's attack created as the smoke cleared. His body was completely black.

_Damn, that was one of my most powerful katon attacks… Onwards to suiton I suppose…_

"Don't think I'm done yet, Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" A giant dragon made out of water appeared in mid air and lunged at Kakuzu. Again, the masked man calmly stood still as the attack hit. The dragon managed to drive Kakuzu even deeper into the ground, increasing the size of the crater, which was now about 20 feet deep.

Naruto groaned as his masked opponent calmly walked out of the crater.

"To be able to use the water dragon technique, you must have mastered water manipulation as well. The more I see out of you, the more excited I am to take your heart." Kakuzu taunted.

_Nothing? That did nothing? Kuso… I might be forced to depend on the chidori… But I still haven't mastered it, half the time it dissipates before I can strike with it… But it's raiton, so it should easily be able to pierce through his doton technique easily… _

"Done already boy? What happened to all that confidence you had earlier?"

_I could use the rasenshuriken… It should be able to break through that defense through sheer power… But it would use up the remaining chakra I have, which would leave me with none remaining to fight the white-haired immortal… I have one more option before trying the chidori…_

Naruto gathered wind chakra in one hand, and fire chakra in the other. "Senpo: kaze-en no dangan!" Naruto launched his powerful wind flame bullet at Kakuzu. It slammed into the older man whose body was again black, and sent him flying until he crashed into a rock.

Kakuzu again easily picked himself out of the rock, and calmly walked towards Naruto. Again, as if nothing happened.

_No effect either... Fine... here goes nothing!_

"Impressive technique you got there." Naruto complimented, as his sparks slowly began dancing around his right fist. "Only problem with it…" Electricity began flowing around Naruto's fist, sounding oddly like chirping birds.

The guardian flashed behind Kakuzu. "It's useless against raiton… CHIDORI!" Just before the chidori could land, it dissipated, much to Naruto's disappointment.

"You're correct, but unfortunately for you, it would appear you're not very good with raiton." Kakuzu sneered, catching the guardian's right cheek with a left hook by his black fist, sending the boy skidding across the ground.

Naruto plunged his left hand into the ground to stop his skidding, effectively cutting up the hand. The blonde picked himself up off the ground, his cheek was bruised, left hand dripping blood, and his back was still bloodied.

_Damnit… I was so close. _The sage noticed Kakuzu kneeling down, hand on the ground. _So he's preparing a defense to hirashin… No matter. I'm going to do it this time!_

The blonde threw a smoke bomb to the ground, and summoned a shadow clone. He burrowed himself into the ground and instantly tunneling towards Kakuzu.

_This fight ends now…_ The whiskered guardian began forming a chidori in his hand once again. _This time… I won't fail._

_

* * *

_

Gamabunta regarded the two masked thread creatures as he watched Naruto thrust a giant rasengan into the masked man from the corner of his eye. _That boy truly is Minato and Kushina's son… To be able to use senjutsu at such a young age…_

The grotesque biped like creature leapt forward and launched a sort of lightning spear towards the toad. Gamabunta barely managed to dodge and watched as the lightning went on to easily destroy a large boulder.

The toad boss swung at the masked creature with his blade, which the grotesque biped easily dodged. As the giant battlte toad began gathering chakra for another water bullet, he was interrupted by being forced to dodge a powerful wind blast from the strange looking four legged thread creature with wings.

The resulting explosion was enough to knock the toad boss off his feet. _These stupid creatures are a pain in the ass… _The toad boss took a moment to check in on the boy who summoned him. The kid launched some fireball at his opponent. As soon as the ball connected with its target it caused a massive explosion.

_That is some kid there…_

Gamabunta dodged another lightning attack, flipping backwards into the air. "Suiton: Teppodama!" The toad bellowed, and fired four water bullets at the winged creature. The creature barely managed to dodge his water bullets, and he caught it with a kick from his webbed foot which was nearly the size of the creature.

"You're getting annoying!" the Toad boss bellowed at the two thread creatures. He swung his large tanto at the biped like creature, which yet again dodged. Gamabunta caught movement from the corner of his eye and swung his tanto at the winged creature that used the wind attack.

The creature wasn't able to react quick enough and was sliced in two by the massive blade.

"Alright, only one more…ACK!" Gamabunta was interrupted by a spear of lightning travelling through his body. "Damnit, sorry Naruto. You're on your own from here." The great toad boss muttered before dispelling in a poof of smoke.

* * *

Naruto's shadow clone flashed behind Kakuzu, preparing to strike the masked man down with a chidori.

Just before the chidori could land, thread shot out of the ground, binding Naruto's body.

"All of that speed means nothing when you're so predictable. Every time you flash you reappear directly behind your opponent. You still have a long ways to go before you can beat me boy." Kakuzu lectured with a sneer in his eyes.

"Hehe, you really think that a sage wouldn't sense the threads you had waiting in the ground?" Naruto retorted with a grin, before disappearing in a poof.

"A shadow clone? When did he…urk!"

Kakuzu looked down to see a hand sticking through his chest, crackling with electricity.

"You're finished." The real Naruto whispered in his ear, before pulling his hand out of the man's body. Kakuzu fell to the ground with a shocked expression on his face.

"THAT'S WHAT I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY TO YOU!" Hidan screamed, knicking Naruto with his pike that he had retrieved while Naruto and Gamabunta were distracted with Kakuzu.

Naruto countered by slamming a newly formed rasengan into Hidan's gut. The Jashin fanatic flew through the air, until his body skidded to a stop.

"I just killed the man who can fix you when I destroy you." Naruto's voice was confident and calm, as the whiskered boy summoned a shadow clone and held out his hand, and formed a rasenshuriken. "Now when I hit you with this, you won't be able to move."

"HAHAHAHAEHEHEHEAHAHAHOI!" Hidan cackled, as he let blood from the stump where his hand used to be spatter across the ground. The fanatic licked Naruto's blood off his pike, while using his feet to draw a strange circular symbol. "You've already lost brat!"

The blonde guardian's eyes widened as he watched Hidan's appearance suddenly changed into one not unlike that of the grim leaper. His skin was entirely black with white bone-like markings. _What the hell…_

"I fail to see how I've already lost." Naruto disappeared in a flash, reappearing 4 feet to Hidan's right. "Now you lo…ARGH!"

The guardian's rasenshuriken dissipated as an intense pain shot through his right knee. _It felt like I was just stabbed through my knee…_ The boy could not hold back a gasp as he noticed Hidan had impaled his own knee with his pike. The guardian looked down to his own knee and saw it was also bleeding, just like Hidan's.

"What the…"

"Hurts don't it." The Jashin worshiper said with a smirk on his face. "You are already under my curse. NOW WE SUFFER UNIMAGINABLE PAIN TOGETHER!" The fanatic screamed, stabbing himself in the arm.

Naruto screamed out in pain. _KUSO! He's somehow managed to link our bodies together with that technique. Being an immortal he can survive after impaling himself, whereas a mortal person cannot. So he can essentially kill me whenever he wants… If I attack him, I will only be hurting myself._

"Damn it…" Naruto muttered. He heard Gamabunta's gruff baritone voice cry out in pain, and looked up in time to see the toad boss dispel.

_Just great…_ The guardian thought, as his mind began working on a plan to defeat Hidan and survive so he could protect Sakura's dream.

* * *

Sakura watched in horror as the silver-haired man stabbed himself and somehow managed to stab Naruto at the same time. Her eyes briefly left her guardian when she heard Gamabunta cry out and pain, and she watched as he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

_What the hell does Hidan think he's doing?_ Sasuke thought furiously as he watched the Jashin worshiper continue to stab himself. _He's going to kill Naruto if he keeps this up…_

Sasuke began walking forward, putting his hand on the handle of the sword he had on his back.

"What are you doing Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto is our only hope for survival at this point. That guy over there, his name is Hidan. He's cursed Naruto and their bodies are now linked together. Whenever Hidan is wounded, the same wound affects Naruto as well."

"That's terrible!" Tears began pooling in Sakura's eyes. "What can I do?"

"Just stay here. Hidan's curse only works when he's standing in his blood seal. I'm not strong enough to defeat him, but Itachi has trained me some, and with the element of surprise, I should be able to knock him out of the seal freeing Naruto."

"But Sasuke… you're a celesti. You're not supposed to walk into a fight."

"I'm not fighting to save Naruto Sakura. That dobe…kid is the only way we're going to survive Hidan. It's just a happy coincidence that I'll be saving Naruto." Sasuke clarified, and began walking towards the battle.

He again stopped and looked over his shoulder at the pink-haired girl. "And don't forget, if you see Naruto's hands go near his tantos, activate the seal. You don't want to activate it when it's too late."

"Hai… thank you Sasuke." Sakura thank said with a smile.

"Like I said… don't thank me. I'm just trying to save my own hide." The younger Uchiha rushed forward.

_I can't believe I'm being forced into action. You're going to regret trying to screw with our plans Hidan…_ Sasuke thought furiously.

* * *

"AUGH!" Naruto screamed as Hidan drove his pike through his left hand. Naruto's body was now littered with holes as blood freely poured out.

"Ready to die yet Naruto? I want to hear you beg for death!" Hidan crowed with his sadistic smirk still present on his face.

"Shut the hell up." The guardian gasped. _Come on… calm down. I don't have much time left. My sage mode is about to run out, and I'm going to pass out from blood loss soon. I need to figure out a way to take this guy out, and fast._

Hidan drove impaled his left elbow with his pike, again causing Naruto to cry out in pain.

_Damnit. I need to ignore the pain and focus. Sakura's dream depends on me surviving. There's no way I can let her down. I will defeat this guy, and I will protect Sakura-chan. I just need to calm down and think about his technique…_

The whiskered blonde grimaced in pain as Hidan impaled his left foot, but continued his calm thinking, ignoring as much of the pain as he could.

_Ok… what did he do before this technique… He nicked me with his pike, licked my blood off the pike, then drew a seal out of his own blood. Now our bodies are linked… The seal… he hasn't left it at all. It's obviously part of his technique… But what role does it play…_

"Stop standing around so silently! Scream out in pain damnit! BEG FOR YOUR DEATH!" Hidan yelled, stabbing himself repeatedly in his right shoulder.

The whiskered guardian simply gritted his teeth and continued trying to understand Hidan's technique.

_Ok… think about what you've seen him do so far. Obviously he's immortal, but what else does he have? He had the scythe to start the fight… Which come to think of it… that scythe was weird. It's three blades don't really make it the best for killing, they just increase the chance of drawing blood…_

Naruto's eyes widened. _That's it! Blood, his technique is dependent on getting the blood of his victim. That's why he said I had already lost once he nicked me. So what about that seal… what purpose does it serve…_

"Oi, brat. Stop spacing out on me. We're sharing this pain together! Cry out in pain for me!"

_He still hasn't left that seal… I wonder…_

"Futon: Daitoppa!" The blonde cried, sending a gust of wind towards Hidan. The Jashin fanatic didn't have time to dodge, and was knocked backwards out of his seal, and Naruto was knocked backwards as well.

Seeing Hidan out of his seal, Naruto quickly tested his theory by throwing a kunai which grazed Hidan's right arm. Naruto smirked. _I was right! He needs to be in that seal to activate his curse. I wasn't affected by that kunai cut. I only have one minute left in sage mode, and I'm probably going to drop from blood loss in two or three minutes, I need to finish this quickly._

Naruto covered his right hand in wind chakra, and flashed behind Hidan.

Before his hand could slice through the silver-haired fanatic, a bolt of lightning forced him to jump backwards. He swore as he saw Kakuzu's last remaining thread creature join the fray.

His eyes widened in surprise when the creature pushed itself back into Kakuzu's body, and couldn't keep his jaw closed when the masked man he "killed" earlier stood back up.

"Not bad brat." Kakuzu sneered.

"Oi… Kakuzu, reattach my hand here!" Hidan ordered holding up the hand Naruto had previously cut off.

Kakuzu's thread reattached Hidan's hand, and an exhausted Naruto was staring down a fully recovered Hidan, and a seemingly fully recovered Kakuzu.

_Kuso…_

_

* * *

_

Sasuke was just about to leap forward and shove Hidan from his seal when he heard Naruto's voice.

"Futon: Daitoppa!" _So the dobe figured it out eh? Not bad Naruto. _

Sasuke slinked back to watch the remainder of the fight.

* * *

_Damnit…_ Naruto thought as his legs began to shake. He was starting to feel woozy and still had two very powerful opponents to defeat. _I don't have enough chakra left to use my rasenshuriken… I'm not even sure if I could form a rasengan at this point…_

His hands brushed against the hilts of his tantos. _I might have to use the blood angel release… _The blonde quickly shook his head. _No, I can't do that. I will ruin Sakura-chan's dream of I do that. There has to be a different way._

Naruto's mind furiously began working on a plan to quickly kill his two opponents, although his hand never left his tantos.

* * *

Sasuke smirked when he saw Naruto's hands drop down to his tantos. _Finally._

The Uchiha celesti looked over to where Sakura was standing, and saw her reading from the piece of paper he had given her earlier.

_Sakura Haruno… you just took the first step towards your death._

_

* * *

_

Tears were freely falling from Sakura's eyes as she watched Naruto hold back cries of pain while Hidan continued stabbing himself. _Sasuke needs to act now!_

"Futon: Daitoppa!" Her guardian yelled, knocking Hidan from his seal with a gust of wind. A small smile filled with pride found its way onto her face. _Of course Naruto figured out that guy's technique. He's amazing!_

Sakura hoped Naruto would end this fight soon though. He was in terrible shape. Stab wounds covered his entire body, his back was still skinless, and his legs were beginning to shake. _He's going to pass out from blood loss soon…_

She watched as the blonde-haired boy flashed behind the grey-haired fanatic with a glowing hand, then was forced to jump back to dodge a lightning bolt from one of the strange masked creatures Gamabunta had been fighting earlier.

The pink-haired celesti then gasped in horror as she saw the creature push itself back into the masked man Naruto had defeated earlier, bringing the man back to life. Now her guardian stood against two powerful opponents.

A new wave of tears fell down Sakura's eyes as she saw his hands drop down to his tantos.

_No… I can't let him do this. I won't let you sacrifice yourself for me Naruto!_

Sakura began reading from the directions Sasuke had given her earlier. She was muttering in some archaic language.

"Eri Seal… activate!" Sakura finished with a yell just as Naruto began to move. The whiskered boy's body froze as a blue circle glowed around his neck.

His sapphire eyes turned to her emerald ones, filled with the pain of betrayal.

* * *

_Ok… this is my best shot._ Naruto thought. _We're not supposed to use these pills because of the strain they put on our bodies… but I should survive after this... something I can't say about the alternatives. One pill should be enough to restore the chakra I need to form two rasenshurikens._

Naruto began moving his bloodied left hand from the hilt of his tanto to his pouch where he kept his soldier pills.

"Eri Seal… activate!" The whiskered guardian heard his pink-haired charge yell. Naruto hissed in pain as a blue circle glowed around his neck. He tried to move his body, but could not. _What? How is this possible… How did she know about the seal… Why would she activate it..._

A sense of betrayal swam through his entire body as he moved his sapphire eyes to meet her tear-filled emerald ones.

* * *

Whew! Finally got this up. I realize that Kakuzu lost a heart to a rasengan, but was perfectly fine against an oodama rasengan. My reasoning is because Kakuzu was completely caught off guard from Naruto joining in the fight, and couldn't use his earth technique to protect himself. The second time, while he was slightly distracted by Gamabunta, he was aware enough to activate his technique when he noticed Naruto disappear.

I hope you enjoyed it, sorry about the wait. Next chapter will be here next week at the latest!

Please do review =)

Jutsu list:

Suiton: Teppodama- Water Release: Gunshot

Senpo: Odama Rasengan- Sage Art: Giant Rasengan

Katon: Shoidan- Fire Release: Fire Bomb- Naruto shoots a fireball out of his mouth on an arc'ing trajectory towards his opponent. The fireball continues to expand as it gets closer to its target, and it explodes in a large explosion as soon as it hits a solid object.

Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Dragon Technique

Futon: Daitoppa- Wind Release: Great Breakthrough—simple wind technique that creates a gust of wind.


	5. In Love?

Alright! Chapter 5 is finally up. Sorry or the slight delay.

As always, I appreciate the favorites/follows/reviews =)

Shout out to everyone who reviewed since last time: DrendeSalkash, cmcwiki, Echo Uchiha, Excele Kurokami, Blood Seraph, Footster26, saveme57, Goddess of night eternal faith, Kelxcon, Serenity Namikaze, KrackerJak

* * *

DrendeSalkash: yes indeed!

cmcwiki: hehe =P Right? What a bunch of pricks.

Echo Uchiha: =)

Excele Kurokami: I'm fairly laid back. As long as your story isn't mine copied and pasted, I won't really care. I hope you do write it so I can read it =)

Blood Seraph: good observation! And yea, I sorta hate the Uchiha brothers right now as well...

Footster26: here it is! I hope you enjoy it =)

saveme57: thanks =)

Goddess of night eternal faith: what can I say... I seem to have formed an addiction to writing cliffhangers =P I'm really glad to here you enjoyed the battle scene! Thanks for the kind words, hope you enjoy this update =)

Kelxon: the seal effectively enslaves a guardian. So now Sakura can control Naruto's every move (if she so chooses). The most obvious thing that the "betrayal" title refers to is Sakura activating the seal and enslaving Naruto who was fighting as hard as he could to not just protect Sakura, but her fantasy as well. But it also refers to the betrayal of Sasuke and Itachi who manipulated Sakura into activating the seal.

Serenity Namikaze: other guardians you say? /e whistles and looks down at this chapter. I do plan on bringing in Shikamaru eventually, but I think I might make him a celesti when I eventually bring him in. But I'm not entirely sure yet =) Thanks for the kind words, enjoy the chapter!

KrackerJak: Interesting... I didn't even think about the parallels between this and FFX. Naruto and Sakura are actually 16 (not quite 17), but close enough =P Guardians aren't actually from a different world, the academy is just very isolated and hard to find, but we'll get more to that in later chapters! And each celesti has a different destiny, and they don't know exactly what it is. Their powers suddenly manifest when the time comes for them to face it. Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoy my stories =)

* * *

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and would own a rocket pack. Yes they actually have rocket packs that work, they're just really really expensive. Man it would be fun to fly around with a rocket pack...

Alright. Onto the show. Please do enjoy, "Guardian"- Chapter 5: In Love?

* * *

Itachi smirked as he continued to lie on the ground pretending to be unconscious. Sakura had unknowingly signed her own death warrant. Naruto would never suspect Itachi of foul play due to the bond they share.

_Soon Sakura Haruno, I'll be freeing Naruto by killing you._

It took all the willpower Sakura possessed to not break eye contact with her guardian. His eyes reflected how betrayed he felt. The pink-haired girl hated having to activate the seal but it was the only way to save his life.

She needed to talk to him, but from the look in his eyes she wasn't entirely sure he would want to talk to her anytime soon. Naruto was still yet to move. Sakura took hesitant steps toward the blonde, hoping to explain herself, but stopped dead in her tracks when Hidan's sadistic laughter rang out into the air.

"Wow kid! What a terrible charge you have. Here you are fighting with everything you have and more to protect her, and she enslaves you?" The fanatic sneered.

Sakura clenched her fist, as more tears threatened to spill from her eyes. _I didn't want to have to activate the seal…_

"Stupid brat. That's what happens when you dedicate your life to your charge, they betray you. Now you die." Kakuzu sneered.

Naruto's pained sapphire eyes never left Sakura's.

"Sakura… I need you to order me to fight them on my own." His tired voice called out. The pink-haired celesti could tell just from the tone of his voice that he wasn't going to be conscious for much longer.

Tears fell from Sakura's eyes as she continued to stare at her guardian.

Naruto's eyes softened slightly. _Looks like she didn't really know what this seal does. Hidan was talking with her while I was fighting Deidara, he must have lied about what the seal truly was and told her how to activate it._

"Sakura… I can't move my body without your command. Please, if I can't move then I can't protect you from these two." The whiskered guardian reasoned in a much softer voice than he used earlier.

"Naruto… fight these two." Sakura commanded in a trembling voice. "But don't you dare use your blood angel release!" She added quickly.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. _Someone had to have told her about that technique. The only person that knows about that technique other than myself is Itachi and Sasuke… But they would never betray me. But then who could've told her?_

The blue ring around his neck disappeared now that he wasn't trying to resist an order given by his master. Little black dots began to dance in Naruto's vision as his wooziness threatened to overtake him.

_No… Sakura's not safe. I can't pass out yet…_ The blonde-haired guardian reached into his pack and took out a soldier pill. _Please body, survive this._

Itachi began to "stir" just as Naruto went to pop a soldier pill in his mouth.

"That won't be needed Naruto-kun." He called as he stood to the surprise of both Naruto and Sakura. "I will take things from here."

"Itachi? You couldn't beat them before, I think I can survive this."

"NARUTO PUT THAT DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Sakura suddenly yelled. The blue circle appeared around Naruto's neck causing a searing pain to shoot through his body as he tried with all of his might to resist the seal.

With a sigh, the whiskered guardian dropped the soldier pill. "Sakura… these pills are our only hope for survival." Naruto said, as he reached into his pouch for another pill, hoping to eat it before Sakura could stop him.

"Naruto don't even think about eating any of those pills. I'm not going to let you die!" The pink-haired girl ordered, again causing the blue circle to appear around her guardian's neck. She cringed as she watched him hiss in pain and drop the pill he had grabbed.

The blue ring was still around his neck and still hurting him even though he had dropped the pill. _Why is it still hurting him? He obeyed the order…Wait… He couldn't move until I commanded him to. _Sakura's command rang through her mind.

"…_don't even think about eating any of those pills."_

Emerald eyes widened as realization struck her. "You can think about using the pills, but you still can't use them!" She hastily called out, effectively causing the circle to disappear. _I need to be a lot more careful with what I say to him now…_

"Itachi…" Naruto said in a weak voice, his legs were visibly trembling now. "It looks like…I'm…going…" Naruto fell to the ground unconscious before he could finish his sentence.

"I was wondering how much longer that brat could stay conscious with all of the blood he's lost!" Hidan said with a sadistic grin on his face.

Itachi began weaving hand signs, seemingly preparing to attack Hidan and Kakuzu. As he completed the last hand sign, he looked at Sakura from the corner of his eye and cast a genjutsu over her.

Returning his focus to the two in front of him, Itachi allowed a rare smile to take over his face.

"Good work everyone. Hidan, Kakuzu, you two can leave now. Naruto's celesti is currently in a genjutsu where she is watching me kill you with my amaterasu."

"Why don't we just kill the girl now? Lord Jashin did not get a sacrifice today!"

"Because," Sasuke said emerging from the trees. "He doesn't hate Sakura enough yet. I could see it in his eyes. We need to give him more time to grow bitter towards her. You saw how she was with the seal; she accidentally used it to prevent Naruto from even thinking something. It's only a matter of time until he grows to resent her."

"I admit, the brat is impressive, but is he really worth all this trouble?" Kakuzu asked as he stared at the unconscious whiskered guardian. "I think it would be easier to eliminate him and his celesti now. That way we wouldn't have to worry about him trying to stop us."

"We need Naruto for our plan to succeed. He's still young so he is going to make mistakes like walk into traps such as the one Deidara set up. But he's easily one of the most powerful guardians, and he will continue to grow even stronger. Believe me, this is entirely necessary.

"Fine. Come on Hidan, my sources tell me there's a man with a pretty hefty bounty on his head nearby. I think it's time we collect."

Hidan groaned. "It's always about the money with you! Fine. But I get to kill him, Lord Jashin needs a sacrifice!"

The strange pair left, leaving the two guardian and celesti pairs.

"How much longer will he have to stick around for?" Sasuke inquired in an annoyed tone.

"We can actually leave now, the genjutsu I've placed Sakura in will naturally release on its own once it has run its course.

"Hhn. Good. I'm sick of this forest."

The Uchiha brothers left, leaving an unconscious guardian and a pink-haired celesti staring off into space.

* * *

Sakura watched as Itachi weaved a complex series of hand signs. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and returned his focus to his two opponents.

"I'm going to give you this one chance to escape. If you value your lives at all you will leave and never attack either my charge or Naruto's charge again." The red-eyed guardian threatened.

"There's no way a guardian would give a threat to their charge escape if they had the power to kill that threat. You're bluffing." Kakuzu sneered.

"Ah, so you're calling me bluff. That will be your final mistake." A black flame burst forth from Itachi's eye, enveloping both Hidan and Kakuzu. The two screamed in pain as the black flames burned through their bodies, and their horrible screams continued to fill the air until they were nothing but piles of ash.

Itachi turned to Sakura, blood trickling from his right eye.

"I'm sorry, but the amaterasu really took a lot out of me. I can offer no more protection for you. You should get Naruto-kun to a city quickly. He's going to need medical attention if he is to survive." The Uchiha guardian explained.

"Sasuke we're leaving." The Uchiha brothers disappeared from sight, leaving Sakura and an unconscious Naruto.

Tears fell from her eyes as she looked down at her guardian. _He fought so hard to protect me…_ Sakura absent mindedly touched one of Naruto's wounds on his chest as tears continued to fall. _I couldn't do anything, now he might die. It's not fair…_

"Please don't die Naruto…" Sakura whispered as her tears continued to trickle from her face onto his body.

A green glow suddenly enveloped Sakura's hand that was still touching Naruto's wound. Sakura gasped in amazement as she saw the hole close.

"Did I… just heal him?" She whispered in awe. _Maybe this is my big destiny. To save Naruto's life!_ Sakura thought excitedly, as she put both hands on the injured guardian's body. The pink-haired celesti was especially surprised at the state of Naruto's hands.

She expected his left hand to be messed up after he shoved it down into the ground to stop himself during his fight with Kakuzu, but she hadn't expected it to be as beat up as it was. His right hand also looked terrible. It looked as if someone took a small knife and gave Naruto's hand hundreds of tiny cuts.

15 minutes later she had finally healed all the wounds on the front of his body. She was exhausted, but she knew her guardian wasn't out of the woods yet. His back was still in terrible condition from shielding her from Deidara's explosion.

Sakura rolled the blonde over and fresh tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at his back. It was bloody and the chainmail was still melted to it, not to mention there was a lot of dirt mixing with his blood.

The pink-haired celesti got to work picking the melted chainmail from Naruto's back. She was actually thankful the boy was unconscious so he didn't have to feel the pain of having the melted chainmail picked from his body.

After she picked the last link out, she pulled out a canteen of water she had on her hip and poured it onto Naruto's back to clean it. Finally she put her glowing green hands over his back and began restoring the skin that had once been there.

The girl's eyelids became increasingly heavy and as she continued to heal her guardian. _I'm almost there… I can't pass out yet. I need to fully heal Naruto…_

Finally, after a total of 35 minutes of healing, Naruto was fully recovered physically. He still had lost a lot of blood, but seeing his body fully healed sent a wave of relief through Sakura.

Her body wracked with exhaustion, Sakura dragged Naruto underneath a large series of tree roots. Tired emerald eyes scanned the area.

_No one should be able to see us under here. Naruto should be safe now._ Sakura laid down next to her guardian and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing the boy tightly against her, before finally laying her head down on his chest and allowing her exhaustion overtake her.

Sakura fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

_Naruto ran as fast as he could down a dark corridor with obsidian floors and walls that were covered in strange white runes._

"_Sakura-chan…" He muttered worriedly._

_He could see a light leaking out of a door at the end of the corridor and increased his speed. The powerful blonde guardian didn't even bother trying to use the door, opting to smash through it instead._

"_Sakura-chan!"_

"_Ah Naruto, so you're here." A voice called from a dark corner in the room. Squinting his eyes, Naruto could only make out a figure; he couldn't see who the owner of the voice was. For some reason the voice sounded oddly familiar._

"_Who are you and where's Sakura-chan?" He yelled, baring his teeth like a feral animal._

"_So it's true. You really fell in love with your charge. If it's any consolation, she loved you too."_

_Naruto's stomach twisted as a cold feeling spread throughout his body._

"_What do you mean loved…" The whiskered boy growled out, afraid of the answer he was going to receive._

"_Well I killed her." The mysterious figure replied in a bored tone. "Her destiny would've interfered with my plans, she needed to die."_

"_YOU BASTARD!" Naruto yelled as tears streamed down his face. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto flashed behind the figure only to have it disappear before he could land a blow. _

"_Calm down Naruto." The figure said as he reappeared in the opposite corner of the room. "You're free now. You now have a destiny."_

"_THEN MY DESTINY IS TO DESTROY YOU!" Naruto roared, disappearing in a flash._

_Again the figure disappeared before the guardian could land a blow. Tears were blurring his vision now._

"_Damnit… I can't even avenge Sakura… Who is this guy…" The guardian's confidence began to waver as he began to feel overwhelmed. Suddenly all of his sorrow, fear and worry left his body as he felt something squeeze him, and a warm sensation passed through his body._

_The room disappeared and Naruto found himself in a bright grassy meadow._

"_It's all ok now Naruto." Sakura said from behind him, as she squeezed him tightly from behind._

_

* * *

_

"Sakura-chan…" The pink-haired girl's eyes shot open at the sound of Naruto's muttering. She lifted her head to peer at him. The boys face was scrunched up in a worried expression.

"Naruto?" She quietly prodded. _I don't really want to wake him up, because he's probably not going to want to lay with me like this… But I don't want him having any nightmares either…_

"Sakura-chan!" _That's the second time he's muttered my name. He sounds so worried…_

"Naruto I'm right here." She said, gently shaking her guardian.

The guardian's face suddenly contorted into a feral snarl. "Who are you and where's Sakura-chan?"

_He's referring to me as Sakura-chan in his dreams… Maybe he doesn't completely hate me for activating the seal…_

"What do you mean loved?" Naruto growled now with a scared look on his face. _Loved? Does he know that I love him?_ Sakura thought with a smile as she put her head back down onto his chest.

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto suddenly yelled as tears began falling from his sapphire eyes and he began thrashing about. Sakura wasn't about to let go of her guardian and began tightening the embrace she had him wrapped in.

"Naruto stop. I'm here!" She said a little louder, hoping to free the boy from his nightmare.

"THEN MY DESTINY IS TO DESTROY YOU!" The powerful guardian roared in his sleep as his thrashing continued. Sakura used all of her strength to tighten her embrace, and lifted her head up so her lips were inches away from Naruto's.

Without thinking she softly pressed her lips into his, instantly stopping his tears and calming him down. She smiled softly at him and was relieved her kiss had such an effect on her crush.

"It's all ok now Naruto." She whispered into his ear, before putting her head back down on his chest and falling back asleep.

* * *

Naruto was stirred awake by the smell of a campfire. Much to his surprise, his body wasn't extremely sore, he just felt a little light-headed from all of the blood he lost. The blonde felt like there was a weight on his chest and that something was tightly wrapped around him.

He could barely open his eyes in his exhaustion; that is until he saw what was on his chest. Sapphire eyes widened in shock as the guardian realized his charge had him wrapped in a tight embrace and was resting her head on his chest.

"What the…" Naruto began to mutter, but quickly caught himself when he noticed Sakura's expression. She seemed to be sleeping so peacefully; he didn't want to disturb her, especially after what she had to witness yesterday.

_She activated my Eri seal…_ The blonde suddenly thought sadly. _I'm sure she had no idea what it would do… but now she can make me tell her the truth. She could easily shatter her own dream now…_

"Damnit…" The blonde whispered. _If I ever find Hidan again I will make him beg for death for causing Sakura to activate this…_

"Ah so you're finally awake!" Said a tall man with white spiky hair tied back in a ponytail and strange red lines on his face. He had a small book out and seemed to be writing in it while he observed Naruto and Sakura with a lecherous grin.

Naruto's body tensed up on reflex, he didn't recognize this man so he could potentially be a danger to Sakura. _He would've killed us when we were passed out if he was after Sakura…_

"Ya… who are you exactly?" Naruto's voice could not hide his exhaustion.

"Who am I?" A strange grin lit up the man's face as he entered a kabuki pose. "Why I am the great and legendary…"

"Jiraiya cut the crap!" A gruff woman's voice called out interrupting the strange man.

"Tsunade-himeeee! You gotta stop interrupting my introductions."

"Shut up you. You better not have written about those two in that stupid little perverted book of yours." The woman's voice replied. Whoever this woman was, she was clearly annoyed with Jiraiya.

Jiraiya began sweating nervously and quickly pocketed his book. "Do you really think I'm the type of person who would do something like that Tsunade?" He asked innocently.

Naruto heard Tsunade sigh. "Do I really have to answer that? The answer is painfully obvious."

Jiraiya let out a lecherous chuckle as he returned his focus back on the whiskered boy. "So… you're with your celesti eh? Quite a risk you're taking there."

Naruto silently thanked kami that Sakura was still asleep or else this old pervert would probably snap her out of her dream.

"Shut up old man. We're not like that." Naruto's sapphire eyes transformed into toad-like yellow eyes. As soon as he entered sage mode, he instantly noticed a change in Sakura's chakra… It felt more powerful. _What the hell? I'll have to figure that out later._

Toad-like eyes flickered to the white-haired man. "How did you know that I'm a guardian and that she's a celesti?" Naruto asked in a threatening tone.

"Impressive! You've mastered sage mode. I can only enter partial sage mode myself." The old man replied ignoring Naruto's question. "I'll give you some more answers later, but why don't we wake up your charge?"

Naruto sighed. He wanted to let Sakura sleep, she looked absolutely exhausted; but he also wanted to get some answers out of this strange man. The guardian shook his charge.

"Sakura... Sakura… It's time to wake up."

The pink-haired celesti slowly opened her eyes with a cute smile on her face as her emerald eyes locked with his sapphire ones. As the girl woke up more, a blush overtook her face.

"Oh… good morning. Ummm… sorry about this. I was sorta exhausted yesterday and…"

"Don't worry about that right now." Naruto interrupted, hoping to avoid any sort of conversation on the topic. "Right now we need to get up. This guy here," Naruto pointed up at Jiraiya, who Sakura noticed for the first time. "And some woman were here when I woke up. They apparently want to talk to us."

Sakura nodded and reluctantly untangled herself from her handsome guardian and stood up, offering a hand to Naruto. The whiskered boy grabbed her hand and she pulled him up with a little too much force, forcing his body against hers. Both guardian and celesti blushed at the awkward position before Naruto quickly put some space between the two.

"Alright, now come on. My charge wants to meet you two." Jiraiya said once the duo seemed to be fully awake."

_Did he just say charge? This guy is a guardian? There's no way… He's way too old to be a guardian…_ Naruto thought with a look of shock on his face. Sakura noticed his look and fixed him with a curious glance.

"What is it Naruto?"

Naruto thanked kami Sakura asked a question, and didn't order him to say what was on his mind. He could still protect her from the truth. _I have to be careful how I answer her though… If I say nothing, she'll say something like, "It's not nothing, now tell me." I can't allow that to happen. What could feasibly put a look of shock on my face…_

"I just realized something Jiraiya said before I woke you up. He said he could only enter partial sage mode. I'm just shocked to run into another sage, that's all." The blonde lied.

A huge grin adorned Sakura's face. _He was awake before me and didn't wake me up right away? SHANAROO! He liked sleeping with me! You are so mine Naruto-kun!_

Naruto mentally sighed in relief when Sakura bought his lie.

"So you two idiots are finally awake." Greeted a woman with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, amber eyes, and a very large bust who appeared to be in her twenties.

"Nani? Who are you calling an idiot?" Naruto growled. The boy never took well to being insulted, especially by someone he didn't know.

"Seeing as how you're the guardian, I suppose I'm more referring to you when I call you both idiots. What kind of idiot guardian passes out in the middle of a woods without leaving any sort of sentry to keep an eye out for danger? You two were completely defenseless. You're lucky Jiraiya and I stumbled upon you." The busty blonde replied calmly.

"Now now Tsunade, we don't know their side of the story." Jiraiya interjected, hoping not to have to protect his charge from a fellow guardian.

"Ya! Naruto didn't have a choice. He gave his all to protect me from three different powerful enemies!" Sakura jumped in, defending her blonde-haired protector.

Tsunade snorted. "A guardian's job is to…"

"She knows what a guardian's job is." Naruto quickly interrupted. _This woman… I don't trust her to protect Sakura-chan's dream._

"Whatever. Naruto is it? You shouldn't be moving around too much. You'll notice that you're still feeling very weak and woozy, that's because your body has a much lower amount of blood than normal. You will need to rest for a few days before you're ready to start travelling again."

"Nani? I feel fine." Naruto lied. "We need to get moving."

"I'm a medic brat. I know you're not fine. Jiraiya, go talk with this stupid kid for a while. I need to talk with the girl alone." Tsunade ordered.

"Anything you have to say to my charge, you can say in front of me." Naruto said with a threatening voice.

"You currently owe your life to me. You will not argue guardian." Tsunade retorted.

Naruto clenched his fist and debated attacking the rude amber-eyed blonde in front of him, but decided against it.

"Fine. But if you say or do anything to hurt my charge… I will make you regret being born." Naruto threatened as he shot Tsunade a cold glare.

Jiraiya chuckled as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ah young love. Come on Naruto, let's go for a short walk before you force me to fight you."

Both Naruto and Sakura blushed. "Shut up you stupid old man! I'm not in love!"

Jiraiya just chuckled some more. "Right right. Of course you aren't. Come on, let's go and give these women their space."

Naruto sighed as he followed the old guardian into the forest.

* * *

"So what's the next step Itachi-san?" Kakuzu's voice inquired, echoing through the dark room.

"We wait. Naruto seemed to be fond of his charge so we need to give her time to misuse the Eri seal and drive a wedge between them. Once Naruto's devotion to that pink-haired girl dies down, that is when we will approach him."

"Then we'll finally sacrifice that bitch to Lord Jashin?" Hidan asked excitedly.

"That's certainly one option." The elder Uchiha answered.

"I don't see why we don't go in and speed the process along." A strange man who looked similar to a shark said. "If we attack them now, that girl is bound to make mistakes in the midst of such a stressful environment."

"Exactly. Naruto-kun would be more forgiving in that situation Kisame. I know Naruto better than anyone else. Trust me when I say sitting back and waiting is the best option for us at this moment in time."

"This better not take too long Itachi." A man with purple ringed eyes and mid length red hair said. "I'm growing tired of waiting."

"Don't worry Nagato, it won't."

* * *

"So what did you want to talk to me about old man?" Naruto asked Jiraiya once they were a safe distance away from Sakura and Tsunade.

"I was just wondering… do you know who your parents were?"

"Yes… their names were Minato and Kushina. They were both guardians." Naruto answered as his eyes looked to the ground.

"I knew it! I didn't know Kushina all that well, but I can definitely see Minato in you." Jiraiya said with a smile.

"You knew my father?" Naruto asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yep, I trained him when he was at the academy. He was my favorite student; a true genius. It's such a shame died."

"Wait… how can you be a guardian if you used to teach at the academy? I didn't think teachers were allowed to switch from teaching to taking an actual charge." Naruto questioned with a confused look on his face.

"Hehe. Well, I sort of got into an argument with one of my peers, his name was Orichimaru. He would treat students like they weren't living beings. I eventually discovered he was experimenting on students. I tried to call him out on it, but he was well-connected at the academy. It was my word versus Orichimaru's on whether or not he was experimenting on students. The council trusted Orichimaru over me and sent me into the world as a guardian."

"Orichimaru? I remember that guy's name. If it makes you feel any better, he got kicked out of the academy a couple of years ago. They never told us why though."

"Ah, that's good…" Jiraiya softly replied.

"So how long have you been a guardian?" Naruto asked.

"6 years now."

"That's impressive that you've managed to survive that long." The whiskered boy complimented.

"Of course I've survived this long! I'm super strong!" Jiraiya proudly boasted with a cocky grin.

Naruto chuckled. "Hopefully I can last a long time as well…"

"You really love your charge don't you?" Jiraiya asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

"I… no. Not like that. I can't. She likes me though, and that's getting to be a problem. I can't let her fall for me when I most likely won't be around for that long…"

"As a former academy teacher I should tell you not to let yourself fall for your charge… But as a guardian whose been out in the world for six years, I will tell you that you shouldn't fight your heart so much." Jiraiya sagely advised.

"Hehe…" Naruto nervously chuckled. "Right now… Sakura doesn't know the truth about the lives of a guardian. She has this fantasy of what the life of a celesti is like that she came up with when she was a little girl and I don't have the heart to tell her the truth. I've decided that I'm going to protect her fantasy for as long as I possibly can."

"I see… That's very noble of you kid. You're just like your father. So… what part of Sakura's childhood fantasy included her guardian hardening his heart against her?" Jiraiya asked with a lecherous smirk.

"Well… er… I know I won't be able to protect her dream forever. I have to keep my distance so she hurts less when I'm gone." Naruto replied sadly.

"Stupid kid. I saw the look on her face when she was sleeping with you earlier. She will be hurt when you're gone regardless whether or not you give in to her."

"You… really think so?" Naruto cautiously asked.

"I know so. It's rare that people like us have a shot at happiness. You should take advantage of this while you can."

"Thanks…Jiraiya."

"No problem kid."

_I hope Tsunade doesn't break this kid's charge out of her fantasy…_

_

* * *

_

"I see you activated your guardian's Eri seal." Tsunade observed.

"Umm… yes. But how did you know? I didn't accidentally use it just now did I?" Sakura asked with a worried look on her face. She hated hurting Naruto with that stupid seal.

"No, but I could tell when I was scanning that kid's body that his seal was activated; also, I could tell by your chakra as well."

"My…chakra?" Sakura remembered Naruto explaining chakra to her. It's what he uses to perform all his techniques.

"Yes you're chakra. The Eri seal was originally developed as a way to force a non-compliant guardian into protecting his celesti. But what most people don't know, is that the seal has another purpose. It draws out the celesti's power as well."

"Draws…out my power? Is that how I was able to heal Naruto?"

"Yep. As you know, all celestis have a hidden power that will manifest itself when they face their destiny. But what few people realize is that it's possible for celestis to access their unique chakra…"

"So can I use techniques like Naruto?" Sakura interrupted excitedly.

"No. A celesti's chakra is very different than everyone else's. The techniques that Naruto uses can't be used with a celesti's chakra, just as techniques a celesti can use can't be used with a guardian's chakra." Tsunade explained.

"So…will I learn a bunch of different celesti techniques?"

Tsunade chuckled. "So eager. No, celesti chakra is very hard to control and access. Our body just has to suddenly know a technique to use it. But you're lucky; healing is a very useful technique to unlock. It will help you keep your guardian alive longer in a fight."

"I guess… But I want to be able to do more! I was unable to do anything for Naruto during his last fight. He fought so hard to protect me and I could only sit and watch. I just wish I was stronger…"

"Naruto isn't the one with a destiny." Tsunade interrupted in a surprisingly harsh tone. "You are. He's supposed to fight hard to protect you; protecting you is what gives his life meaning."

"Why can't Naruto have a destiny?" Sakura shot back with a glare on her face. "He deserves to be happy just as much as I do."

"You love him don't you?" Tsunade asked softly, with a far off look in her eyes.

"I… I think so." Sakura responded with a smile on her face.

"Well you should stop now. You're only asking for more pain if you fall in love with your guardian." Tsunade said with a frown.

* * *

Alright! Finally chapter finished/up. Stay tuned for ch6 to come next week! Please do review =)


	6. Determination

Whew, it's been too long for this story! A bout with the flu got in the way of me updating, but I'm sorta healthy now so I can get back to regular updates. Sorry for the delay, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

As always, I appreciate the reviews, favorites and alerts! They keep me writing.

Shout out to everyone who reviewed since last time: Mr. Horrible, holydemon90, No- I'm not on facebook., cmcwiki, Lunar-Ice-Wolf, Kelxcon, Echo Uchiha, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, Excele Kurokami, Footster26, The Moonbeam Is Watching

* * *

Mr. Horrible: Naruto is keeping Sakura in the dark to protect her innocence. His thinking- better that she thinks she's in this happy amazing perfect world living her dream than knowing the not so happy truth. Ino is for sure going to make an appearance in future chapters as well as Shikamaru. Both will be celesti and I'm debating on who their guardians will be (their guardians will be other good guys from the Naruto universe though). I'll probably add more as the story progresses as well!

holydemon90: Hmm... I guess their first adventure could lead to the eventual removal of the Eri seal from all guardians... I actually didn't end this chapter on a cliffhanger for once! (Well, I don't think I did anyways).

No- I'm not on facebook.: Thanks! I also enjoy your username =P

cmcwiki: Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Lunar-Ice-Wolf: =) Luckily I didn't end this chapter on a cliffy! (At least I don't think I did...)

Kelxcon: Sakura's fantasy is that a celesti lives this awesome life, traveling the world with their brave and noble guardian until the celesti eventually saves the world. Also, Naruto already knows the truth, he's just trying to protect Sakura from it =) And why would that annoy me? I don't mind questions in the slightest!

Echo Uchiha: =)

Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: Haha, thanks =) And I'm not going to answer your question about Tsunade, instead I'm going to look the other way...

Excele Kurokami: Dan? Who's Dan? =P Your assessment is fairly accurate though. I look forward to reading "Torn Destiny" =)

Footster26: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it =) A celesti can fulfill their destiny without a guardian having to die... But it's not the most likely of scenarios

The Moonbeam Is Watching: Thanks for the compliment! Naruto and Sakura won't be professing their love for each other anytime soon, but that's not to say that Sakura won't wear down Naruto's defenses =)

* * *

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and would pay Square to remake FF7 for the PS3, including the quest they were originally going to include to revive Aerith, because I ALWAYS use Aerith in my party every damn time.

Please do review after reading!

Now then... I've kept you waiting for quite long enough. Let's move on shall we? Please do enjoy "Guardian"- Chapter 6: Determination

* * *

"Tell me about my dad Jiraiya… I always wanted to know more about him. But all I was told at the academy was that both my father and mother were very powerful and I wasn't living up to their names."

"Hehe. Sounds like those bastards at the academy. As I said before, Minato was a genius. He was hailed as a prodigy at an early age in the academy and I took him under my wing. Under my tutelage, Minato began developing his own unique techniques and eventually created the rasengan, and the hirashin. Both moves are extremely powerful."

"You mean these?" Naruto asked as he formed a swirling blue sphere in his hand, then disappeared in a yellow flash, reappearing behind Jiraiya.

"Hehe, so you learned your father's most powerful techniques. Impressive. I notice you did the hirashin without hand signs even, Minato could never do that."

Naruto smiled and formed a rasenshuriken in his hand. Jiraiya's eyes widened when he saw the humming sphere. "They told me at the academy that the rasengan was an incomplete jutsu, so with the help of a friend I completed it. I call this the rasenshuriken." The whiskered guardian held the humming sphere in his hand for a few more seconds before dispelling it.

"That's very impressive. Your father would be very proud of you Naruto." Jiraiya suddenly tensed up as a frown made its way onto his face.

"Hmm… do you feel them Naruto?" Jiraiya asked the young blonde.

"Yea. They don't feel very strong, but something feels off about them." Naruto replied.

"Perhaps we should be getting back to our charges now. If they do decide to attack, let me handle them. You're still too weak from your last battle." The white-haired guardian instructed.

"What? No way! I'm fine. I can handle whatever those two things are."

"Maybe so, but better safe than sorry. Tsunade may not be the most pleasant woman ever, but she knows her stuff. If she says you're still hurt, then you're still hurt. Now come on, let's get back."

The white-haired guardian and his now grumbling blonde-haired companion calmly walked back toward their charges.

* * *

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked incredulously. "How could I possibly be asking for more pain by falling in love with the man who has been and will be protecting me for the rest of my life?"

"It looks like you certainly drew the short straw when you got him as a guardian." Tsunade mumbled.

"What? Don't talk about Naruto like that! I'm lucky that he is my guardian." Sakura yelled, defending her crush.

"Your first guardian is supposed to tell you the truth right away. For some reason, the celesti lifestyle is over romanticized and little children dream about their little fantasies where they're a celesti being protected by a brave and strong guardian until the save the world." Tsunade explained as she grabbed the bridge of her nose.

"What do you mean tell the truth?" Sakura asked in an apprehensive tone.

"The truth Sakura. The truth is, Naruto will not be with you when you face your destiny…If you face your destiny at all that is."

"WHAT? Why not?" The younger celesti asked incredulously.

"Because Naruto will be long dead by then. You see Sakura, a guardian's life expectancy is very short. On average, a celesti goes through one guardian a year."

Emerald eyes were opened wide. "No… Naruto won't die. He's strong…"

"That's what I thought about my first guardian." Tsunade interrupted. "And like you, I unlocked my healing powers while traveling with him. And like Naruto, Dan never told me the truth. I was in my fantasy world and Dan kept me in it up until he died."

"What do you mean… fantasy world." The pink-haired celesti asked softly.

"I would imagine it's the same as the one Naruto is keeping you in. Dan let me believe that I was going to save the whole world, and he would be by my side during my entire journey. We fell in love, and I thought Dan would be there forever."

"…what happened?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Dan was a guardian. All guardians are trained to sacrifice their lives to protect their charges, and Dan was no different. He used a sacrificial technique to protect me from harm and died. I was devastated. The man I loved threw his life away to protect me." Tsunade answered bitterly.

"I'm sure Naruto knows plenty of sacrificial techniques as well, which he will use without hesitation when the time comes. And believe me when I say this Sakura, the time will come. I've been a celesti for 24 years now, and Jiraiya is the 18th guardian who has taken me as his charge. All 17 guardians before him sacrificed themselves for me, and it's only a matter of time until Jiraiya sacrifices himself for me as well."

"How can you have been a celesti for 24 years? You look like you're in your 20's." Sakura asked with a confused look on her face, as she tried to ignore the information Tsunade just told her.

"Hehe. I'm actually 54 girl. As to how I look to be in my 20's? Well that's a secret." Tsunade said with a wink.

"I see…" Sakura drawled, before her eyes lit up. "You said that on average, a celesti goes through one guardian a year. Then how come you have only had 18 guardians? Shouldn't it be closer to 24?"

"I'm old Sakura, and have been for a while. The older I get, the closer I get to dying naturally. The older I get, the less likely it is that I will fulfill my destiny. Jiraiya has been around for six years now because those who hunt celesti tend to go after younger ones who are more likely to fulfill their destiny than some old woman like me. But they'll come eventually, and eventually Jiraiya will die."

"How can you talk so calmly about something like that?" Sakura yelled as she clenched her fists. "Guardians are people too. How can you just sit there and calmly announce their pending deaths?"

"Because Sakura, that's the way it is. Guardians sacrifice themselves for the celesti. That's why the guardians were formed. You need to get that through your head. Naruto is eventually going to die protecting you."

"No, Naruto is strong. And I won't let him sacrifice himself for me. I'll heal Naruto after every single fight he's in, I will not let him die." Sakura replied stubbornly with a fire burning behind her emerald eyes.

"I told you, I thought the exact same thing about Dan. But like all guardians, Dan died. I wasn't able to use my healing powers to save him."

Tears began pooling in Sakura's eyes. _What if she's right… What if I can't save Naruto. What if I'm just a burden that gets him killed?_

"It's useless to try to fight it Sakura. As a celesti, you have a destiny. As a guardian, Naruto does not. His "destiny" is to die protecting you. You should start putting some distance between you and him before he dies. Trust me; you don't want to experience the pain of losing a guardian that you foolishly fell in love with." Tsunade lectured calmly in the softest tone Sakura had heard her use yet.

"So as a celesti… I'm just going to be running around while guardians throw their lives away to protect me from constant threats… Until I fulfill my destiny, and I might not even fulfill it? That's the true life of a celesti?" Sakura asked in a low monotone voice.

"Unfortunately so. It's about the farthest thing you can get from a fairy tale. The life of a celesti is a miserable one. Just so your soul can survive, you will learn to eventually see guardians as nothing more than sacrifices. Once you view them as sacrifices, their deaths don't chip away at your soul in the slightest."

"A guardian is a sacrifice…" Sakura whispered as a tear fell down her cheek. _So Naruto is a sacrifice for me…_

"That is correct Sakura." Tsunade confirmed.

"That sucks…" The pink-haired girl mumbled to no one in particular. "This sucks…"

Tsunade's hazel eyes softened as she patted the younger celesti on the shoulder. "Yes it does."

"Now then, let me teach you how to properly use your healing powers." Tsunade called out in a loud voice.

"What's the point Tsunade? If my guardian is just going to die anyways, what's the point of healing them?" Sakura asked in a sad tone.

"Just because they are going to die eventually, doesn't mean you can't try to prolong their life a little bit. You should always strive to keep your guardian alive as long as you possibly can." Tsunade replied softly.

"But why? Why waste my time on a sacrifice?" Sakura asked bitterly as another tear fell down her cheek.

"Because when you keep them healed, they can protect you better." Tsunade explained, her voice still soft.

"So that's it. I should heal my guardian because it's beneficial to me." Sakura spat.

"Yes Sakura, that is correct. You're the one with a destiny, you're the one who's important."

"Well screw that!" Sakura yelled. "I'm not going to heal Naruto just so he can protect me better. I'm going to heal Naruto to help him! I refuse to look at Naruto as a sacrifice. He's Naruto, my guardian. I'm not going to let him get hurt, and I'm not going to let him die!" The pink-haired celesti's eyes flashed with determination as she crossed her arms defiantly.

Tsunade sighed. "It's your heart. You'll be forced to accept the truth eventually."

"Screw the truth and screw destiny!" Sakura huffed.

A small smile adorned Tsunade's face. "A bold statement. Well then, let me show you how to use your powers properly then if you're going to defy destiny." _This girl is so much like me when I was younger… I hope that somehow you defy fate and aren't forced to live through the same hell that I am Sakura…_

Sakura looked to Tsunade with determined eyes. _I'm going to learn how to use my healing powers, then I'm going to use my powers to keep Naruto alive… SHANAROO!_

_

* * *

_

"This is our lucky day. We stumble upon two unguarded celesti… Lord Orichimaru will be quite pleased." A large cloaked man said with a cruel smirk.

"You idiot. They're not unguarded. Their guardians aren't far away, we're going to need to capture those two quickly." A tall thin man responded.

The large man responded by activating the seal on his neck and transforming into a dark skinned demonic looking creature with spikes protruding out from his body.

The tall thin man used his seal to transform into a dark skinned serpent-looking creature. A large tail protruded from his back and scales covered his entire body.

They both tensed their muscles, preparing to spring forth and capture the celesti. They froze as a blond-haired boy flashed in front of the two women.

"Well what do we have here? If I didn't know any better, I would say you two are going after my and that kid's charges." A white-haired man called from directly behind them.

The large creature whirled around and shot spikes out of his body at the white-haired guardian.

The guardian simply deflected the spikes with his own spiky hair.

"You'd be better off by simply letting us take those two celesti. Our master will enjoy experimenting on them." The skinny snake-like man said.

Jiraiya laughed. "I'm not sure what happened to you two, but you aren't strong enough to beat me."

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE CURSE MARK!" The large spiky man roared as he leapt forward, fully intending to impale Jiraiya with his spikes.

The white-haired guardian easily dodged and formed a rasengan in his hand.

"RASENGAN!" Jiraiya slammed the sphere of chakra into the spiked man's gut. The rasengan tore his stomach apart and the large spiked man reverted back to normal as he died.

"You… you bastard!" The skinny snake-like man yelled as he rushed forward. Jiraiya simply smirked as he formed another rasengan and slammed it into the man's gut.

As the snake-like man reverted back to normal, Jiraiya stood over him with another rasengan in his hand.

"You said your master would enjoy experimenting on those two celesti. Why don't you tell me who your master is?"

"Hehe. Burn in hell guardian." The man spat.

"After you." Jiraiya muttered, before finishing the skinny man off by slamming his rasengan into the man's head.

"Looks like I still got it eh Tsunade?" Jiraiya boasted.

"Whatever. Now that this kid is awake I think it's time we get moving Jiraiya. Two celesti are bound to attract more attention."

"Wait a second, Naruto still hasn't recovered from his earlier fight. I think we should stick around until he's closer to full strength."

"Thanks Jiraiya, but I'm fine." Naruto interjected as he stood on whobbly legs. "Tsunade is right, two celesti will definitely draw more attention. Thank you for watching over us while we slept."

"See Jiraiya? The kid is fine." Tsunade said. "Now let's get going, I don't feel like getting attacked again."

Jiraiya sighed. "Fine. You better be careful Naruto, I already outlived my favorite student, I really don't want to outlive his son."

Naruto chuckled and smiled at the white-haired guardian. "I'll be just fine. Thanks for everything Jiraiya."

"No problem gaki." The white-haired guardian responded with a grin of his own.

"Thank you for helping me with my powers Tsunade." Sakura said as she shot a grateful smile to the blonde-haired celesti.

"No problem. Good luck defying destiny." Tsunade replied with a soft smile.

"Thanks, but I won't need any luck." Sakura responded confidently, getting a chuckle out of the older celesti.

"Of course you won't. Well, we're off then. See you around." Tsunade and Jiraiya waved as they disappeared into the forest.

As soon as the older duo was out of sight Sakura turned to her guardian with a serious look on her face.

"Naruto, I need to ask you a serious question."

The whiskered guardian looked at his charge. _I wonder what that hag Tsunade told Sakura-chan…_

"Ok…" Naruto drawled in a slightly awkward tone.

"Would you sacrifice yourself for me without a second thought?"

Naruto stared at Sakura with a surprised expression on his face. "Of course I would Sakura-chan. That's my job."

A pained look overtook Sakura's eyes. "Please… don't. I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me Naruto."

To Sakura's surprise, her whiskered guardian began chuckling. "Sakura-chan… That's like telling a bird not to fly. If I need to sacrifice myself to protect you, then I will. That's…" _Wait, I need to be careful with how I tell her this next part. I could accidentally break her out of her fantasy if I'm not careful._

"That's…"

"So it's true then." Sakura interrupted, causing Naruto to raise his eyebrow at her.

"What's true Sakura-chan?"

"Tsunade said that a guardian's life expectancy was very short, and on average a celesti went through one guardian a year. She said not to get attached to any guardians because none of them would be around for long; guardians would sacrifice themselves for me." Sakura said softly as her sad emerald eyes examined the ground.

"She… Damn it… I'm sorry Sakura-chan… I was hoping to protect you from the truth for a little longer. I don't know how long I'll be alive to protect you Sakura, and I understand if you want to distance yourself from me so it hurts less when I die." Naruto replied as he clenched his fist. _Damnit Tsunade, you just had to go and ruin her dream…_

"Distance myself from you? Screw that! You and I are going to defy this stupid "fate" Naruto. When I activated your Eri seal I also unlocked my healing powers. I'm not going to let you die Naruto-kun. You are not going to be sacrificing yourself for me." Sakura said with a determined grin.

"Hehe… Thanks Sakura-chan…" Naruto replied with a foxy grin as he scratched the back of his head.

"And Naruto?" Sakura asked softly.

"Yea Sakura?"

"Thanks… for trying to protect my innocence. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate you trying to keep me happy."

Naruto simply grinned at his charge. "You're welcome Sakura. I'm just sorry I couldn't protect your dream longer."

"It's ok Naruto, I'm kind of glad I know the truth now. So what are your plans now? Are we just going to wander randomly until I face my destiny?" The pinkette inquired.

"That's the plan!" Naruto answered enthusiastically.

"Then I have a request… Do you know anyone who might be able to remove your Eri seal?"

Sapphire eyes widened in surprise as Naruto took in his charge's words. "Erm… you want to remove my seal? Why?" _No celesti has ever wanted to remove a guardian's Eri seal after activating it… _

"I hate hurting you!" Sakura replied in a pained voice. "I've already accidentally hurt you too much with that damn seal. I want to get rid of it as soon as possible."

"Sa…Sakura-chan…" Naruto stammered in shock. A lone tear slid down Naruto's cheek as he looked at his charge with a small smile. "Thank you…"

The guardian's pink-haired charge returned his smile. "Don't thank me yet baka! You still have the seal activated. So do you know someone who can remove it?"

"Well… No celesti has ever wanted to remove their guardian's Eri seal after activating it. So I don't know anyone for sure, but we can ask the council at the Guardian academy. If anyone knows how to remove the seal, they should know." Naruto answered while scratching his chin in thought.

"The Guardian Academy? We can go there?"

"Of course we can."

"Then why don't we just stay there… I can't think of a safer place than an academy filled with guardians…"

"Hehe. Well, technically a guardian isn't supposed to bring his charge to the academy. Having celesti around distract the academy students too much, not to mention that celestis tend to attract trouble. The council really doesn't want enemies attacking. But they make exceptions for prodigies." Naruto explained with a nervous chuckle.

"So that's how you met Sasuke I presume?"

"Yep. Itachi, like me, was considered a prodigy and as a result he sympathized with me. He was the 8 year old who defeated me in a duel on my third birthday. After that dual he felt so bad for me that Itachi became a sort of big brother to me. After he left the academy, he returned from time to time to check on me and brought Sasuke with him." The blonde answered.

"I'm glad you at least had Itachi when you were growing up." Sakura said with a soft smile on her face.

"Hehe, me too Sakura-chan. Itachi helped train me, and helped me develop my own unique techniques. He also helped me alter my father's famous techniques and make them my own. I shudder to think where I would be without Itachi…"

"Remind me to thank Itachi the next time we see him." Sakura looped her arm around her guardian's. "So which way to the academy?"

"Well… we're not going to go to the academy right away Sakura-chan." Naruto replied. And to Sakura's surprise, the blonde didn't seem to have any problem with having his arm looped together with hers.

"We're only a few hours away from the village I originally wanted to stop at. We're going to stop there so you can sleep in a bed. I figure we'll spend a couple of days there while I recover my strength. As much as I hate to admit it, I am still weak from the battles with Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu. Also, if you would like, we can start your training once we're in the village."

Sakura instantly perked up and a huge smile took over her pretty face. "Hell yea! Let's get to the village now so we can start, SHANAROO!"

Naruto chuckled at his charge and began leading her towards the small village. A small smile adorned the whiskered boy's face as he thought about his charge.

_A celesti who is determined to prevent me from sacrificing myself, wants to get stronger and not rely on her hidden powers, wants to remove my Eri seal that she accidentally activated… A celesti who actually wants her guardian to be happy… I sure lucked out when I got Sakura as my charge._

_

* * *

_

At Sakura's request, the duo walked quickly and made it to the small village in just over an hour. The blonde-haired boy led the way to a quaint inn.

"This is where we'll be staying for a couple of days." He explained as the pair walked into the small building.

"Welcome! Ah I see we have another young couple." A bald old man greeted, causing both Naruto and Sakura to blush.

"Hehe, it's not like that old man." Naruto awkwardly replied. "I would like one room with two beds please."

A disappointed frown flitted upon Sakura's face briefly. _Damn, I wouldn't have minded sleeping with Naruto-kun again._ The pink-haired celesti quickly replaced the frown with a fake smile. _Things are going well between me and Naruto… I don't want to accidentally screw anything up by acting too disappointed…_

The old man, however, did not miss the look of disappointment that flashed across Sakura's face briefly.

"Hehe. Sure. Well I have some bad news, although from the look on your partner's face, I don't think she will think of it as bad news."

Sakura's emerald eyes instantly snapped to attention.

"We're out of 2 bed rooms. The only room we have left is a one person room with one full-sized bed." The old man finished with a lecherous smirk.

The pink-haired celesti tried and failed to surpress the happy smile that overtook her face. _SHANAROO! Looks like I'll be getting to sleep with Naruto-kun again!_

To Sakura's surprise, Naruto didn't sigh or make any sort of fuss. Instead he…blushed?

"Ok, that will do old man."

Naruto took a key from the old man and began walking down a hallway. Sakura closely followed her guardian with an excited smile on her face.

_Naruto and I are going to be sharing a one bed room… _

Naruto stopped at a door, and unlocked it with his key, before walking in. Once Sakura was in the room, he closed the door and locked it. His charge instantly shot him a mischievous grin.

"You know Naruto-kun… I'm pretty tired after everything that has happened. Why don't we take a nap before we start training?" The pink-haired girl plopped down on the comfortable looking bed in the corner.

"That's not a bad idea Sakura-chan." Naruto summoned two shadow clones. One began reading the water manipulation scroll Naruto was currently trying to master, and the other entered sage mode to scan the immediate area for any threatening chakra signatures.

Naruto lay down on the ground and closed his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sakura asked incredulously.

Naruto opened one sapphire eye to see Sakura looking at him like he was a complete idiot from her spot on the bed.

"I'm taking a nap? The shadow clones will disperse as soon as they sense danger which will instantly wake me up."

Sakura sighed and grabbed the bridge of her nose. _Clueless as ever. _"No baka. I meant why are you sleeping on the floor?"

"You're my charge; I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor." Naruto replied in a tone that matched Sakura's own incredulous one.

"And who said that one of us had to sleep on the floor?" Sakura pressed.

"Sakura-chan… it isn't proper… I shouldn't be sleeping with you. We haven't even really known each other for all that long yet…"

_He didn't use the guardian/celesti relationship as an excuse!_

"It's ok Naruto. I trust you; I know you won't take advantage of me. Now come up here, this is a big bed. There's plenty of room for both of us." Sakura commanded.

The familiar blue circle appeared around Naruto's neck, causing the blonde to hastily climb into bed with Sakura.

"Oh crap! Naruto I'm sorry… I didn't mean to command you like that!"

"It's ok Sakura-chan…" Naruto quietly whispered. He tried not to feel betrayed, but couldn't stop a small part of him for resenting Sakura for her use of the Eri seal. _I'm still her little slave… _A small voice said in the back of his head. The whiskered boy quickly shook his head. _NO! Sakura didn't mean to use the seal against me just now… She wants to get rid of this seal. _

Sakura couldn't stand seeing the slightly pained look on Naruto's face. She knew he was trying to hide it from her so she didn't feel guilty.

"Naruto… I want you to know that I would prefer that you sleep in the bed with me. But if you aren't comfortable, I will not force you. You are free to choose where you would like to sleep."

The blonde guardian shot his charge a grateful smile. "Thanks Sakura-chan… If you really want me to sleep in the bed then I will, and not because some seal is making me."

The blonde's charge smiled back at him. "I'm glad." She whispered. Sakura briefly considered cuddling up with Naruto, but decided against it. _He really seemed against sleeping in the same bed with me originally… I seem to be wearing down his defenses… It's probably not a good idea to do anything that he's not fully comfortable with right now._

"Sweet dreams Naruto." The pink-haired girl said softly as she turned away from her guardian.

"Sweet dreams Sakura." The blonde-haired boy whispered back as he followed suit and turned the opposite direction of his charge.

Both Naruto and Sakura fell asleep with a content smile on their faces.

* * *

Sakura woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Emerald eyes slowly opened to see Naruto's shadow clones sitting on the floor in the exact same positions they were in when she went to sleep. _Looks like we were more tired than we thought… _

"Did we sleep through the entire night?" Sakura asked Naruto's clone that was in sage mode.

"Ya, you guys were really out of it. I thought about waking you up, but you guys looked so exhausted I decided to just let you sleep." The clone replied.

"Thanks." Sakura responded as she rolled over to look at her guardian. _Naruto's still out cold. He was a lot more exhausted than he let on…_

Sakura fought the urge to run her hand through her guardian's spiky blonde hair, and instead chose to get up.

"I'm going to get us some breakfast." She announced.

"Ok, hold on just a second." Naruto's sage clone responded as he walked to Naruto's pack. The clone rustled around in the pack for a few seconds before pulling out a three-pronged kunai.

"I'm going with you," The clone explained. "And if someone happens to dispel me, the original will wake up and instantly flash to this kunai to protect you."

"You don't need to come with me." Sakura huffed. "I'll be just fine."

Naruto's clone chuckled. "Hehe. I'm sure you would be. But the original would kill me if he found out I let you go wandering about on your own."

Sakura smiled at the clone. "You're probably right. Fine, let's go." The pink-haired celesti grabbed the room key and left the room, with Naruto's sage clone in tow.

"You know, a lot of people are going to be staring if you're just walking around town in sage mode. Your eyes kind of stand out…" Sakura admonished.

"Hmm, you're right." The clone replied and quickly dropped sage mode.

"You're a clone of Naruto, what should we get him for breakfast?" The pinkette inquired.

"That's easy!" The blonde clone replied enthusiastically. "Ramen!"

Sakura sweat-dropped as she stared at her guardian's shadow clone. "Ramen…for breakfast?"

"You've never had ramen for breakfast?" The clone asked with a shocked expression on its face.

"Ramen really isn't a breakfast food… Toast, eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, waffles… those types of foods are breakfast food." Sakura answered in a tone that one would use to educate a toddler.

"Ramen works for every meal!" The clone replied. "It's settled then, we're going to have ramen for breakfast!"

"What? I didn't agree to that! I will not be having ramen for breakfast!"

"Don't knock it till you've tried it Sakura-chan."

Sakura sighed as she let Naruto's clone lead her to a ramen stand.

* * *

Naruto slowly stirred to the sound of birds chirping. _Crap, I slept through the entire night? _The whiskered boy rolled over to look at his charge. A feeling of panic spread throughout his body when he noticed Sakura wasn't in bed.

Panicked sapphire eyes swept across the room looking for his charge.

"Calm down. She went out to get some breakfast, the other shadow clone went with her." Naruto's clone studying the water manipulation scroll called without looking up.

"He what? She shouldn't…"

"He took one of your three-pronged kunais with him so you could instantly flash to her if he was dispelled for any reason." The clone interrupted.

"Right…Thanks for the info." Naruto said as he dispelled his clone. _Damnit, why am I having such a difficult time getting water manipulation down? That clone spent the entire night studying this scroll and I'm still not much closer to understanding it…_

The whiskered guardian focused on the kunai his clone had in hand and flashed to it.

* * *

_I can't believe I'm going to eat ramen for breakfast…_ Sakura thought as she stared at the ramen stand's menu.

"Are you sure this is what Naruto wants for breakfast?" The pink-haired celesti asked her guardian's clone, hoping this was all one big practical joke.

"Trust me Sakura-chan, you're going to love this. There is no better breakfast than ramen!" The enthusiastic clone replied.

Before Sakura could retort, her actual guardian appeared in a yellow flash.

Naruto blinked as he took in his surroundings and a large foxy smile made its way onto his face. "You like ramen for breakfast too Sakura-chan? This is great!"

Sakura sweat dropped as she looked at her excited guardian. "I guess…" She mumbled, turning her attention back to the menu.

"Thanks for looking after her." Naruto told his clone before dispelling it. "I'll have six bowls of miso pork please!"

Wide emerald eyes met happy sapphire eyes as Sakura turned her head to Naruto in shock. "Six bowls of ramen for breakfast?"

"I know… I'm eating a pretty light breakfast." The whiskered blonde dumbly replied.

Sakura sweat dropped for what seemed to be the hundredth time that morning. "Right… I'll have one bowl of vegetable ramen please."

After a couple of minutes, six steaming bowls of ramen were sitting in front of Naruto, and one steaming bowl was sitting in front of Sakura.

"Itadakimasu!" The duo said before digging into their ramen.

* * *

An hour later Naruto and Sakura had returned to their inn room.

"So are we going to leave for the academy today?" Sakura asked hopefully. _The sooner I get this stupid seal off of Naruto the better._

"No, I think we should spend a couple of days in this village. I would like to get your training started before we head out." Naruto replied.

"You want to start my training? What, you need me to be stronger because you can't protect me?" Sakura teased while sticking her tongue out at her guardian.

"Nani? Of course not! If you don't want to start your training I guess we can just leave today." Naruto replied.

"No no! I want to start training as soon as possible!" Sakura quickly retorted. "So what are we going to do first Naruto-sensei?" She asked with a cheeky grin.

Her whiskered guardian chuckled as he pulled out a black blindfold. "Naruto-sensei huh? First, we're going to work on improving your senses."

Sakura eyed the blindfold warily. "What do you mean improve my senses?"

In a flash, Naruto was standing behind his pink-haired charge. "Exactly what it sounds like, you're too dependent on your eyes, so we're going to take them out of the equation for a while." The guardian explained as he blindfolded his charge.

"So I just have to walk around blindfolded?" The pinkette asked. _Well this won't be that hard…_

Naruto again chuckled. "Not exactly. You're going to be dodging while blindfolded." He explained as he grabbed the pillows off the bed.

"Dodging? Naruto what are you…" Naruto interrupted Sakura by hitting her in the head with a pillow.

"What the hell was that for?" Sakura screeched.

Naruto's laughter filled the room as he readied another pillow to throw at his charge. "You were supposed to dodge that pillow Sakura-chan. Focus on your other senses."

"Focus on my other senses? Naruto I can't dodge a pillow without being able to see it!" Sakura complained.

"Well then you are not going to have a very pleasant afternoon Sakura-chan." Naruto cheekily replied as he hit her in the head with another pillow.

"NARUTOOOOO!" Sakura growled as she reached for her blindfold. Warm hands were suddenly on her own.

"Sorry Sakura-chan, but you're the one who wanted training. You're going to need to keep that blindfold on, now focus!"

Naruto jumped back and readied another pillow to throw at his charge.

_I'm going to make you pay for this baka…_ Sakura thought as she tried to listen for any sign that a pillow was travelling towards her head.

* * *

Finally got a new chapter up! Being sick sucks, but I'm back to being healthy'ish. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and PLEASE review =)

For fans of Jiraiya and Tsunade, don't worry, we'll be seeing them again =) (although probably not for a while).

Also, be excited everyone! We're almost to the start of the first official story arc! Woohoo! =P


	7. Bonds

Ah, Chapter 7 is finally here.

As always I appreciate the reviews/favorites/follows!

Shout out and thanks to everyone who reviewed since last time:Echo Uchiha, cmcwiki, Footster26, SasMitoyomi, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, tricksie, Darious Frost, melapoy

* * *

Echo Uchiha: Thanks =)

cmcwiki: Hehe, Chapter 6 was pretty fluffy wasn't it? =P This one has plenty of fluff as well!

Footster26: Guardians very rarely travel together as two celesti would draw a lot of attention, and most guardians are like Naruto and would prefer to avoid a fight whenever they can. But don't worry, Jiraiya and Tsunade will be back!

SasMitoyomi: Ya, she's taking the truth quite well. Glad my Saku/Shadow Clone interaction could make you laugh =) I'm feeling much more better now, I hope you are as well! Being sick sucks!

Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: When I started the story, I originally planned on having Ino break Sakura out of her little fantasy, but I realized Tsunade was a much better choice. Like the manga, Orochimaru is going to be in his own party. We'll find out more in later chapters, but for now I'll say that Orochimaru has an unhealthy interest in the celesti. Naruto does not have the Kyubi in him, it just didn't make sense for this story. He has no ties to a village, nor did his mom or dad. There's a very slight chance that I'll write a Kyubi arc if the story goes on for a while, but it's very unlikely.

tricksie: Thanks so much for the kind words! Coming from you that's quite an honor, I love your stories =)

Darious Frost: Thank, I'm glad you enjoy it =) Out of curiosity, what two stories are you referring to and what is X?

melapoy: Aww, thanks =) Ya, guardians really get the shaft in this little universe. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Sakura can keep Naruto alive! =)

* * *

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and would already own Tangled on dvd even though it hasn't been released yet, because that movie was seriously amazing. I'm seriously going to have a Tangled party when it actually comes out on dvd, even if it's just me watching Tangled by myself. Great freaking movie.

Anyways... Onwards to the story! Please do enjoy "Guardian"- Chapter 7: Bonds

* * *

Sakura felt the pillow flying through the air towards her face and ducked underneath it. Naruto and her had been staying in a small village for the past three days, and all Naruto had done is thrown pillows at her blindfolded form.

"Very good Sakura-chan. Your reflexes are getting better." The blonde guardian complimented.

"Getting better? My reflexes are awesome!" Sakura boasted. "I think it's about time…" The pink-haired celesti was interrupted by a pillow hitting her upside the head.

"Don't get too arrogant now Sakura, you still have a long way to go before you're ready to take that blindfold off."

"Oh come on Naruto…" Sakura whined. "I've had this stupid blindfold on for three days straight. I want to actually be able to see something!"

"You'll get to take the blindfold off when your dodging abilities have gotten better. Now focus!"

Sakura weaved to the right to dodge another pillow that went whirring just past her ear. _Ok… that's enough! I'm going to teach Naruto a lesson SHANAROO!"_

The blindfolded celesti dropped into her taijutsu stance and leapt towards where she thought Naruto was standing. She launched her fist forward at what she assumed was Naruto's face, only to have it caught by the guardian's strong hand.

"Careful Sakura-chan. You're not ready for attacking yet. You just almost punched a wall." Naruto called from her left.

Sakura growled and threw another fist in the direction of her guardian's voice. Her fist simply connected with air, and Sakura heard her guardian sigh from behind her.

"Sakura… I'm telling you you're not ready for attacking yet. We need to work on your reflexes."

"Screw that, I'm ready!" Sakura stubbornly grunted launching an elbow towards the voice. Again, her elbow only connected with air, but this time she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her arms and restrain her.

"You're not Sakura. You've improved greatly over these past three days but your reflexes still aren't good enough to move onto the next step." Naruto gently admonished into her ear, causing a shiver to go up Sakura's spine.

"Fine…" Sakura said in a defeated tone. "Let's get back to the pillow tossing I guess…"

Naruto released his charge and let a small chuckle escape his lips. "Don't be so down Sakura. You've only been training for three days."

"Whatever…" Sakura grumbled as she ducked under another pillow headed for her head.

* * *

"Report in." Itachi commanded a cloaked man in front of him.

"Naruto appears to be getting along with his guardian just fine. His sensory abilities are highly advanced so I wasn't able to get very close, but I think I heard him mention something about going to the academy to learn how to remove his Eri seal."

"This isn't good…" Itachi said in a monotone voice. "And where is Naruto right now?"

"Naruto and his charge have stopped in a small village a couple of hours north of where you and he fought Hidan and Kakuzu. He appears to be training his charge."

"Interesting… And how long do you predict Naruto will be in this village?"

"He seems to be waiting for his celesti to master dodging blindfolded. The girl is making impressive progress, but she won't be ready for at least a week."

"I see… "

"Looks like your genius plan is going to fail Itachi." Sasuke sneered from his seat on the ground.

"My plan hasn't failed yet…" Itachi paused and looked at the cloaked man who had been spying on Naruto. "Is there a reason you're still here?"

"Hai Itachi-sama. I know it's not my place, but I have an idea."

"You're right, it's not your place to come up with ideas, but I'm feeling generous. Go ahead and tell me your idea, but be warned, if your idea is not good I will kill you where you stand." Itachi coldly threatened.

The cloaked man began sweating nervously. "Well ah… you see…" The man stammered.

Itachi's mangekyo sharingan flared to life as he glared at his stammering subordinate. "Spit it out or I'll kill you now."

"Naruto's celesti would have no way of knowing if she's trapped in a genjutsu, and genjutsus are also one of Naruto's greatest weaknesses. If you cast a genjutsu on the girl you can trick her into using the Eri seal on Naruto."

Itachi looked at his subordinate with a thoughtful expression on his face. "That is a good idea." The cloaked man let out a breath of relief just before Itachi grabbed his face and forced his subordinate to stare into his mangekyo sharingan.

"But you were still out of place. Tsukuyomi."

The cloaked man instantly fell to the ground clutching his head as he began screaming wildly.

"If you would Sasuke…" Itachi motioned towards the screaming man.

The younger Uchiha withdrew his katana and stabbed it through the cloaked man's head.

"So are you going to go through with that plan?" Sasuke asked as he wiped the blood from his katana and returned it to its sheath.

"I think it's our best option right now. But I'm a little hesitant to reveal myself to Naruto so soon. He trusts me unconditionally, but even he might get suspicious." Itachi answered in his monotone voice.

"Can't you just cast the genjutsu from a distance?"

"On most guardians that would work, but not Naruto. When he's in sage mode, his sensory abilities are unrivaled. If he happened to enter sage mode and felt my chakra presence nearby that could ruin everything we've worked towards."

"We don't really have anyone else that's good with genjutsus." Sasuke pointed out.

The Uchiha guardian sighed. "You're right… Come on Sasuke, we're going to ambush them on their way to the Guardian Academy."

"And why do I have to go?" Sasuke asked.

"To maintain my cover. If Naruto discovers me, I might be able to convince him that we were just in the area with you around. He would be suspicious if I was somewhere without my charge."

"Fine… let's go." Sasuke replied.

* * *

Naruto had a proud grin on his face as his charge easily dodged every single pillow he threw at her. The whiskered guardian threw his last pillow, which Sakura again dodged effortlessly.

"Very good Sakura-chan!" Naruto complimented as he walked behind his charge. "You're ready for the next step!" The guardian undid the blindfold that had cut off Sakura's vision for the past week.

"Finally!" Sakura gasped, as her eyes took in sights that wasn't black cloth for the first time in a week. She turned to her guardian and took in his form for the first time in a week. _God Naruto is handsome…_ The pink-haired celesti thought with a blush on her face.

Sakura quickly shook her head. _No, now's not the time for those thoughts. Now's the time for training so I will be less of a burden to Naruto…_ "So are you going to teach me fighting moves now?"

To the pinkette's surprise, her guardian started laughing. "What? Of course not Sakura-chan! You're nowhere close to being ready to actually fight. Your reflexes still need a lot of work."

"What? But I was easily dodging all of the pillows blindfolded! I…"

"You were dodging pillows that I was lightly throwing at you." Naruto interrupted. "Now you're going to use your newly focused senses and eyes in conjunction to dodge things that will be flying towards you at a much faster rate than the pillows."

Sakura looked at Naruto with a nervous look in her eye. "What sort of things?"

"Rocks!" Naruto replied nonchalantly.

"Rocks? You're going to pelt your charge with rocks? I could get hurt!" Sakura complained.

"Hehe, don't forget Sakura-chan, you're the one who requested this training." Naruto replied with a grin.

The pinkette pouted at her blonde-haired guardian. "Naruto teach me taijutsu." Sakura whined.

The whiskered guardian hissed in pain as a familiar blue circle appeared around his neck. Sakura's emerald eyes widened in panic.

"Shit! I didn't mean it Naruto! You don't have to teach me taijutsu if you don't want to." Sakura quickly said, causing the blue circle to disappear.

_That was an accident. _Naruto assured himself. _She wants to…_ The blonde's thoughts were interrupted as his pink-haired charge suddenly wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Naruto, I'm so sorry!" She apologized as tears formed in her eyes. "I hate that stupid seal!"

"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan." The blonde soothed as he rubbed the pink-haired celesti's back. "I know you didn't mean to activate it."

A lone tear escaped from Sakura's eye as she buried her face into her guardian's chest. "It's not ok! I hurt you again…"

The guardian chuckled lightly at his charge. "It is ok Sakura. I know you would never intentionally activate the seal, and it doesn't hurt that bad. So please stop worrying about it."

"But…" The pinkette started.

"No buts. I'm very glad that you're my charge Sakura-chan." The blonde said as he lifted Sakura's head so she could see his smile.

A small smile overtook Sakura's face as she looked into warm sapphire eyes.

"I'm glad you're my guardian too." The celesti whispered before laying her head on the powerful guardian's shoulder.

* * *

Itachi and Sasuke stood in the tree line watching the path that one needed to take if they were going to the Guardian Academy from the small village.

"If they take any longer I say we just go in and kill Sakura…" Sasuke grumbled. The Uchiha brothers had been waiting on the path for six days now after a day of travel to get there.

"Easy Sasuke. It's been a week, I'm sure Naruto will be moving his charge soon. In the Academy we're taught not to stay in the same place with our charge for any longer than a week."

"Well they better be leaving soon or else I'm going to go in that village and kill Sakura myself." Sasuke spat coldly.

A rare chuckle escaped Itachi's lips. "Wishful thinking little brother. You're no match for Naruto."

"I'm no match for Naruto yet." Sasuke growled as he clenched his fist together.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were walking a path leaving the small village. The guardian didn't want to stay in the village any longer lest they attract unwanted attention. The whiskered blonde walked a few steps in front of Sakura while his charge admired his new shirt.

_That sapphire sleeveless kimono shirt looks so good on him shanaroo! _Apparently while Sakura was blindfolded Naruto purchased a new shirt to replace the one that was incinerated by Deidara's explosion.

Sakura was slightly disappointed he got a new shirt because she enjoyed her guardian walking around shirtless, but this new kimono matched his eyes perfectly, so she couldn't complain. The pinkette smiled as she thought about back in the room when she accidentally activated his Eri seal. Not only did he allow her to hug him, but he also comforted her and rubbed her back. And he's been calling her Sakura-chan a lot lately as well.

_It's only a matter of time before I completely break down your defenses Naruto-kun, SHANAROO! _Sakura thought as a large grin plastered itself onto her face.

* * *

"Finally!" Sasuke grunted as familiar heads of blonde and pink hair came into view.

Itachi smirked and formed a series of hand signs in rapid succession. The Uchiha guardian whispered something softly that Sasuke couldn't here, but the raven-haired celelsti assumed his brother had cast a genjutsu on Sakura.

Sasuke smirked as he saw Sakura's eyes widen in surprise and activate Naruto's Eri seal.

* * *

Sakura was continuing to stare at Naruto dreamily when he suddenly stopped and withdrew the two tanto he had attached to each side of his hips.

_What's he doing?_ Sakura thought worriedly. "Naruto…?"

The guardian held the two tanto over his chest. "Kinjutsu…"

"NARUTO STOP!" Sakura yelled, this time purposefully activating his Eri seal.

The whiskered boy froze and slowly put re-sheathed his tantos. The seal remained activated as the guardian stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

"Well what do we have here?" A cloaked man asked as he appeared out of thin air. "A guardian who can't seem to move on his own? This should be easy." The man withdrew a katana and swiped it at Naruto.

"Naruto duck!" Sakura commanded. The blonde ducked underneath the blow. "Launch an uppercut!" Naruto's body again obeyed the celesti who was currently in control, but the cloaked man leapt backwards to dodge the uppercut.

_Crap… Why can't I remember how to deactivate his seal in a fight? _Sakura panicked. The cloaked man started charging at her protector again._ Until I can remember how to let him fight on his own, I'm going to have to command him to keep him safe._

"Naruto form a rasengan." The cloaked man was almost to her blonde. "Hirashin behind him and hit him with your rasengan!" The whiskered guardian flashed behind his opponent and drove the rasengan into the cloaked man's back.

To Sakura's horror, the rasengan simply phased through the man. The cloaked man turned towards the sapphire-eyed guardian with a smirk on his face, twisting his katana so he could impale Naruto's throat with it.

"Naruto flash to me now!" Sakura yelled out in a panicked voice. She breathed a sigh of relief when a yellow flash appeared directly in front of her.

* * *

Naruto was walking the path he and Sakura needed to take to get to the academy. Sakura was a few feet behind him and he could feel her eyes burning into his back. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the pinkette looking at him with approving eyes.

_Looks like Sakura-chan likes my new shirt!_ The blonde thought with a smirk. He really was lucky to get the pink-haired girl as his charge. Most celesti could care less about their guardian's well being, but Sakura was determined to make sure he was happy. She was determined to ensure that he didn't die.

"_It's rare that people like us have a shot at happiness. You should take advantage of this while you can."_ Jiraiya's words rang through his mind. He knew that his feelings for his charge far surpassed the protective feeling a guardian feels toward their charge. He definitely cared about Sakura a great deal.

The blonde wasn't entirely sure, but he might even be falling in love with the girl. But he didn't know much about love. It was hardly ever talked about at the Guardian Academy. _Maybe I should tell her that I'm ready to be more than friends with her..._ The whiskered boy mused.

His thoughts were interrupted by his charge's yell. "NARUTO STOP!"

Confused sapphire eyes met worried emerald eyes as he felt the familiar blue circle form around his neck.

"What's going on Sakura-chan?" He asked in a confused tone. His body was completely frozen until Sakura gave him an order to move it.

"Naruto duck!" The confused guardian obeyed and ducked, but he couldn't find any sort of threat in the area. "Launch an uppercut!" Naruto again complied and uppercutted the air. _Why is she doing this… _The blonde thought as a slight feeling of betrayal began to seep into his body…it sort of felt like Sakura was just playing with him, forcing him to dance around. _No… Sakura-chan hates this seal… She might even hate it more than I do… There's gotta be something else going on here._

"Naruto form a rasengan!" The sapphire-eyed boy again complied with his charge's command and formed a swirling ball of chakra in his hand. "Hirashin behind him and hit him with your rasengan!" _Hirashin behind who? There's no one there… Ok, now I definitely know there's something wrong with Sakura…_

Naruto felt a familiar searing pain start in his neck and spread down his body when he did not hirashin behind the man that Sakura was seeing. The pain only increased as the guardian began drawing in nature chakra to enter sage mode.

The guardian's entire body throbbed in pain as he acted on his own, the pain making it much more difficult to focus on absorbing the surrounding nature chakra.

"Naruto flash to me now!" Sakura yelled. The whiskered blonde flashed directly in front of his charge and resumed drawing in nature chakra. Gritting his teeth as the seal shot wave after wave of hot searing pain throughout his body, Naruto closed his eyes. _Almost there…_

The guardian's now toad-like eyes flashed open has he fully entered sage mode. He instantly searched the area for any sort of unfamiliar chakra signals. Toad-like eyes widened in shock when the young sage felt two familiar chakra signals.

_Itachi and Sasuke… What are they doing here?_ The guardian quickly pushed the two brothers from his mind and scanned Sakura. He let out a small gasp, although Naruto couldn't tell if the gasp was from surprise or pain as the Eri seal continued to punish him for acting on his own.

_That's Itachi's chakra in Sakura's system… Did he put her under a genjutsu?_

"Naruto grab me and use the hirashin to get us out of here!" Sakura commanded.

Naruto grinned at his celesti. _Perfect, I can channel my own chakra into her to break her out of Itachi's genjutsu now._

_

* * *

_

Itachi watched as Naruto resisted the Eri seal to enter sage mode.

_This isn't good… _

"Sasuke… we need to leave. Naruto has entered sage mode, we can't be discovered yet."

"Hhn." Was the celesti's only response as the two began to retreat.

* * *

The cloaked man sneered at Naruto and Sakura. "As you can see, I'm unbeatable. It's impossible to hit me with any sort of attack."

_What do I do…_ _I could have Naruto enter sage mode, then he could try to use the rasenshuriken. But would that work? His rasengan phased right through this guy… Maybe he really is invincible...Suddenly Naruto's words to her father on the first day she met him flashed through her mind._

"_Just because I prefer to avoid a fight whenever possible, doesn't mean I'm weak Haruno-san."_

_Maybe this is a fight we should avoid._

"Naruto grab me and use the hirashin to get us out of here!" She commanded.

Her guardian instantly turned to her and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. Suddenly she felt a surge of warmth spread through her body and the cloaked man disappeared. Sakura blinked in confusion as she stared into Naruto's toad-like eyes.

_When did he enter sage mode…_ The pinkette noticed her guardian seemed to be panting heavily.

"Welcome back Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a tired grin in between breaths.

"Wh…what just happened? Where did that guy go?"

"You were under a genjutsu. There was never any guy attacking us. If you wouldn't mind releasing this seal now?" Naruto asked, the tired grin never leaving his face.

Sakura felt like an idiot as she remembered how to free Naruto from the seal. _It's not very hard… why couldn't I think of that a minute ago?"_

"Naruto move and act on your own." Sakura said softly, sighing in relief as the blue circle she hated so much disappeared from around her neck.

The guardian sighed in relief once he was free of the seal. He instantly searched the area for Itachi and Sasuke's chakra signals, he found them but they were fading quickly. _It looks like they're heading in the opposite direction of where we currently are..._

"Naruto?"

_But I don't get it… Why would Itachi place Sakura under a genjutsu. If I hadn't sensed Itachi's chakra in Sakura, there's no way I would believe that Itachi would do such a thing…_

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled snapping the blonde from his thoughts.

"You said I was under a genjutsu… what is that? All I know about genjustu is that you're not very good with it..."

"Genjutsu are illusionary techniques that disrupt your senses by manipulating the flow of chakra in your brain. They're particularly dangerous because even though they are an illusion, your body still believes them to be real and the more powerful genjutsus can cause serious mental trauma." Naruto explained to his charge.

"How did you know I was under a genjutsu if you're so bad with them?"

Naruto gave his charge a warm smile. "Because I knew something was up. I know that you wouldn't activate the seal on purpose, and then when you told me to flash behind some guy I knew for sure that something was wrong. So I resisted the seal to enter sage mode, and scanned your chakra."

The young sage left out the fact that it was Itachi's chakra he found in her system, which meant that Itachi put her under the genjutsu.

Sakura beamed in pride at her guardian as she looped her arm around his. "Well we can hold this over the heads off all those people at the academy who used to give you crap for being bad at genjutsus!"

Naruto briefly chuckled before a serious expression returned to his face. "Sakura-chan… I need to know. What did you see when you were under that genjutsu?"

Sakura's grin was replaced by a sad frown. "Well… you just suddenly stopped and went to use your blood angel release…" The pinkette whispered softly. "And I wasn't going to let you die…"

"So that's why you purposefully activated the seal and told me to stop." _Itachi had to have known that the only way Sakura would purposefully activate the seal is if she thought I was going to sacrifice myself… Why would he want to trick her into activating the seal?_

"Yea… and then some sort of cloaked man attacked you, and for some reason I couldn't remember how to undo the seal, even though it's so easy. I felt like an idiot just now when you asked me to release it, because it's so easy…"

_Itachi even blocked part of her memory? That was no ordinary genjutsu he put on her… Why would he trick her into activating the seal then prevent her from deactivating it… What do you want with Sakura Itachi...  
_

"Don't feel so dumb Sakura-chan. You were under a powerful genjutsu that was blocking off that part of your memory." Naruto said to the frowning pink-haired celesti.

"I guess… But since I couldn't figure out how to undo the seal, I had to command you so the cloaked man didn't kill you. You attacked him with a rasengan, but it phased right through him. Then just before he could stab you through the throat with his katana, I had you flash to my side, and then I decided it was best if we just avoid this fight and have you use your hirashin to get us away from the man."

"That was good thinking Sakura-chan." Naruto complimented with a grin, which restored the smile on Sakura's face as well.

"Naruto… I know I said that I wanted you to train me right away, but my training can wait. I don't want that to happen ever again. We can continue my training after we figure out how to get rid of that stupid seal. Accidentally hurting you is one thing, but being manipulated into hurting you is unacceptable. I will not allow myself to be used to hurt you anymore." Sakura said in a soft and determined tone.

The whiskered blonde smiled softly at his charge. "Thanks Sakura-chan."

"How far away is the Guardian Academy?"

"It should take us about two weeks to walk there from here."

Sapphire eyes widened in surprise and a blush took over Naruto's face as his charge suddenly jumped into his arms, forcing him to carry her bridal style.

"Sa…Sakura?" The blonde stammered.

"Two week is way too long. You can move a lot faster than I can, so I figure we'll get there quicker if I let you carry me, then you can run as fast as you want without having to worry about me." Sakura explained trying to hide the blush that had found its way to her cheeks as well.

"Ah… right. Ok then." Naruto replied as he shifted Sakura in his arms so the pink-haired girl could be a little more comfortable. "Time to go then!"

The pink-haired celesti laid her head against her guardian's chest as Naruto took off at a very fast pace. _Soon we'll get rid of this stupid Eri seal and I won't have to worry about hurting you anymore Naruto…_ Sakura thought as a happy smile flitted onto her face.

* * *

"Do you think he noticed us?" Sasuke asked his older brother as the pair walked back to their lair.

"Yes, he definitely noticed our presence. I wasn't counting on him being able to resist the Eri seal and enter sage mode…" Itachi replied in an annoyed tone.

"Do you think it will break his trust in you?"

"I don't think it will completely break his trust, our bond is strong. But even our bond won't prevent him from being suspicious of me… I think I'm going to need to lay low for a while." Itachi answered.

"If he's suspicious of you then your plan will never work, his bond with Sakura is unusually strong. I think it's time we just take her out of the picture."

"That is out of the question. You're right when you say that Naruto's bond with his charge is unusually strong, and that's why we simply can't kill her. If we kill her, then Naruto will become one of our most powerful enemies."

Sasuke sighed. "Are you really sure we need that dobe for our plans to succeed?"

"I'm absolutely positive." Itachi responded calmly.

* * *

The stars were out in full force as Naruto continued running towards the place where he had grown up in. It was starting to get late. Sakura had fallen asleep in his arms hours ago, and was now sleeping against his chest with a happy smile on her face.

_Her back is going to hurt if she sleeps an entire night in that position…_ Naruto thought as he came to a stop. The guardian managed to form the familiar cross seal for his kage bunshins without waking the beautiful girl in his arms.

Four clones poofed into existence and quickly set the tent up before taking their positions to watch over the guardian and his charge. Naruto climbed into the tent which had two sleeping bags laying on the floor. The whiskered boy gently placed the pinkette into one of the sleeping bags which caused the girl to grunt in displeasure in her sleep.

Smiling down at his sleeping charge, Naruto got into the other sleeping bag and allowed himself to drift to sleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up in a dark tent. Her tired brain was barely working as she looked around in confusion. She didn't know when or how she left her guardian's strong arms.

The groggy pinkette caught sight of spiky blonde hair and without thinking, moved her sleeping bag over to the sleeping blonde and laid her head down on his chest.

Smiling, Sakura drifted back to sleep.

* * *

"Are you sure this information is correct?" A heavily bandaged old man asked.

"Hai Lord Danzo-sama… It would appear that Itachi has betrayed us."

Danzo sighed. "I told you fools it was a mistake to let him have his younger brother as a charge."

"But that's not all Lord Danzo-sama." The masked man continued. Danzo simply motioned for him to continue.

"Our spies tell us that Itachi has taken steps to convince Naruto to join him."

"Naruto you say? We would be in serious trouble if Itachi and Naruto teamed up against us…"

"Naruto would never betray us." An old man with a short goatee and spiky gray hair interjected.

"Normally I would agree with you Hiruzen, but Itachi was like an older brother to Naruto when he was here. If anyone could convince Naruto to betray us, it's Itachi." Danzo replied calmly. The bandaged man turned his attention back to his masked informant.

"Do you know where Naruto is now?"

"Yes, he and his charge are currently on his way here." The informant answered.

"Oh? That's convenient. We can take care of this whole situation before it becomes a problem then." Danzo said with a calculating smile.

"And what do you mean by that?" Hiruzen asked apprehensively. The old man had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"Simple. If we kill Naruto now, we don't ever have to worry about him betraying us." Danzo calmly replied.

"What? No way. I will not agree to this!" Hiruzen roared. "Naruto is a good man, we have no right to just kill him"

"Hiruzen is right Danzo." A short wrinkled old woman spoke up.

"Naruto is a guardian, his life is bound to be sacrificed eventually Chiyo." Danzo said coldly. "He will be killed now for the greater good of all guardians and celesti."

"I'm sorry Danzo, but I can't agree with this." An old man with a grey beard, grey spiky hair and green glasses called out.

Danzo sighed in frustration. "Homura think of how powerful Naruto is...now imagine if he and Itachi came after us together… Those two, along with the other guardians that Itachi has apparently swayed to his side would be able to destroy this place."

"With Itachi's betrayal, Naruto very well may be our most powerful guardian." An old woman with her grey hair pulled back in a bun, and long red and green earrings pointed out.

"You're right Koharu, and he is currently a threat to us because Itachi could very well persuade Naruto to join him." Danzo ground out.

"Let's take a vote." Hiruzen said.

"All those in favor of killing Naruto when he gets here?" Danzo raised his hand and held back a wave of anger when he realized he was the only one with his hand raised.

"All those in favor of keeping Naruto alive?" Hiruzen, Homura, Koharu, Chiyo and the other eight members of the council all raised their hands.

"It's settled. Naruto will not be killed." Hiruzen said in a relieved tone.

"You're all making a terrible mistake." Danzo growled. "He will betray us, and he will destroy us."

"No Danzo. Naruto is a noble young man, we will tell him the news about Itachi's betrayal. Naruto will not betray us." Hiruzen replied confidently.

* * *

_A 3 year old Naruto stood across from an 8 year old Itachi and eyed the older boy fearfully._

"_What are you waiting for Naruto, attack him!" Danzo commanded._

_The 3 year old entered a sloppy taijutsu stance and charged at the older boy. Itachi easily sidestepped Naruto's charge, grabbed ahold of the child's arm and threw the boy over his shoulder and into a wall._

_The small child slowly rose up with tears beginning to form in his eyes._

"_Those better not be tears I see in your eyes Naruto." Danzo warned._

_The blonde child blinked away the tears and formed a cross hand seal. "Kage-bunshin no jutsu!" _

_Three shadow clones poofed into existence._

"_You can use the shadow clone technique at such a young age? Impressive." Itachi complimented as the blonde and his clones surrounded him._

_In perfect harmony, Naruto and his clones sprang towards Itachi. The 8 year old prodigy leapt into the air to dodge their strikes. _

"_Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!" Itachi blew a large fireball which enveloped the area where the blonde and his clones had been._

_The smoke cleared to reveal Naruto on the ground, burned with tears falling from his eyes._

"_Stop crying Naruto!" Danzo barked. "Instead of crying you should be training because you are far too weak!"_

_The blonde boy couldn't stop crying, the fireball hurt too much. _

_Danzo snorted in disgust. "You're pathetic Naruto. Your parents would be ashamed of you."_

_Itachi clenched his fist as he watched Danzo berate the small 3 year old boy. _

"_I'm sorry…" Naruto whimpered._

"_Why should I care if you're sorry boy? Being sorry won't make you strong. Training will make you strong. If you're sorry then push your body to and beyond its limit and become strong." Danzo spat._

_The 3 year old still couldn't stop crying. _

"_God you're pathetic Naruto. I can't look at you right now." Danzo sneered as he turned and walked away._

_Seeing Danzo leave, Itachi walked up to the crying boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. Naruto instantly flinched away from the contact and looked up with fear-filled eyes. _

"_I'm sorry I had to do that. Lord Danzo ordered me to not hold back against you. But you shouldn't listen to him, you did very well in that spar. I think you're quite strong." Itachi said softly._

"_Re…really?" Naruto sniveled._

_Itachi smiled at him. "Really. Now come on, let's get you to the medics so they can heal you right up." The 8 year old prodigy grabbed the 3 year old prodigy's hand and led him away._

Naruto awoke with a start. _Why was I dreaming about my third birthday?_ The blonde frowned as he thought about Itachi. _Itachi… what's going on. You've always been like an older brother to me… Why would you be trying to get Sakura to activate my Eri-seal…_

As Sakura's name passed through the blonde's mind, Naruto noticed a small weight against his chest. Peaking his eye open he bit back a gasp.

_Sakura-chan moved close to me so she could lay her head on my chest?_ Naruto softly smiled at his charge and put an arm around her.

_I don't know what Itachi wants with you Sakura-chan… But I will protect you._ The guardian thought as he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Woohoo! Another chapter down. I actually realized while writing this chapter that I never gave Naruto a new shirt after his old one got incinerated by Deidara's explosion, so since then Naruto has essentially been walking around shirtles... My bad. That's why he suddenly got his sapphire kimono shirt, I know it was a little random. Anywho... I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter Naruto and Sakura arrive at the Guardian Academy and we'll get to see how Sakura reacts to the people who raised her favorite guardian!

Please do review =)


	8. Protection

Guardian is getting closer to being my longest story yet! Only 3 chapters away now from taking the lead.

Shout/Thanks to everyone who's reviewed since last time: Echo Uchiha, cmcwiki, holydemon90, arashi, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, Lunar-Ice-Wolf, Darious Frost, Footster26, InARealPickle

Reviews help keep writers writing =)

* * *

Echo Uchiha: I'm glad you think so!

cmcwiki: /e whistles and turns away innocently

holydemon90: Thanks! That's a good way to look at the seal, I never thought about it like that. We're going to get some more details on the Eri-seal in future chapters, and all I'll say for now is that it's quite the nasty little seal.

arashi: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it =)

Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: =) Planned Guardians (roughly in order of likely appearance): Sai, Temari, Lee, Yahiko, Kakashi. I'm not even sure if a lot of the council members think they treated Naruto badly as a kid to be honest.

Lunar-Ice-Wolf: Clever with the name there =P Thanks and glad you're liking everything so far!

Darious Frost: The academy is ruled by the Guardian Council which is made up of 13 elders with equal power. So Danzo isn't the Head of the Academy. However, the Guardian system is much more suited to Danzo's way of thinking. Guardians are simply tools to be used to protect celesti, just as in the manga, Danzo views shinobi merely as tools to be used to protect the village. As a result, Danzo tends to have a lot of supporters on the council. Hiruzen is definitely his main opposition on the council though. Naruto certainly isn't going to be happy when he finds out that the man who looked after him during his awful childhood is now his enemy... As for the seal, we're going to find out in future chapters just how nasty it is. And lastly... Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I knew that =P

Footster26: Kakashi is a guardian, and will be showing up (most likely) much later in the story. At the very earliest he might make an appearance in 6'ish chapters, but most likely he's 12-15 chapters away from showing up.

InARealPickle: I'm sorry you feel that way!

* * *

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and own my pet koala bear because I think they would be an awesome pet. As long as they don't live up to their "bear" name and maul your face in a eucalyptus leaf induced rage.

Alright! Please do enjoy "Guardian"-Chapter 8: Protection

* * *

Sakura's eyes slowly flitted open as the sound of birds chirping lulled her awake. As her eyes blearily made sense of where she was, Sakura realized her head was resting on something sturdy, yet very comfortable, and she could feel something wrapped around her.

_This is so comfortable…_ The pinkette sleepily thought, closing her eyes. She lay there for a few more minutes as her brain slowly started working. _Wait a second…_ Sakura opened her eyes again and instantly realized what she had been using as a pillow.

_Did Naruto let me sleep with him last night?_ Sakura thought excitedly, completely forgetting about her late night movements. _He put his arm around me!_ Now Sakura was left with a very difficult decision, to tease or not to tease? She could easily tease her poor guardian for resting her head on his chest and putting his arm around her… Sakura grinned. _Decision made!_

She laid her head back down and waited for her guardian to wake up. Luckily for the celesti, she didn't have to wait long, as Naruto lazily stirred. Tired sapphire eyes greeted her.

"Mmm… morning Sakura-chan." The whiskered guardian mumbled.

"Good morning Ero-Guardian!" Sakura quipped with a grin.

Naruto's eyes instantly shot open at his charge's choice of names. "Nani?"

"I said good morning Ero-Guardian!" Sakura repeated.

"And why am I "Ero-Guardian?"

"Well you put my head on your chest last night when you put us to bed and you had your arm around me. You didn't even ask me if that's what I wanted, just went ahead and did that to an unconscious girl! Ero-Guardian!" The pink-haired celesti teased while sticking her tongue out at the powerful young guardian.

"Wait a second! I put you to bed in your own sleeping bag, and then I went to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night to find you had come over and put your head on my chest!" Naruto retorted. "If anything I should be calling you Ero-Celesti!"

Sakura blushed as memories of her late night movements suddenly flashed back into her mind. "Oh.. erm… Well you still put your arm around me!"

"After you decided to use me as a pillow." Naruto quickly countered with a grin on his face.

_Well that didn't go as planned…_ Sakura thought as her guardian waited for her response.

"Well… whatever…" Sakura mumbled, her usually active brain failing to come up with a retort.

"Victory Naruto!" The whiskered boy announced to the world while flashing a victory sign.

Sakura sighed. "Shut up baka…" Her eyes quickly widened as she realized what she had just said. Sakura quickly opened her mouth before the blue circle she hated so much could hurt her guardian. "I mean… speak freely Naruto."

Grateful sapphire eyes met apologetic emerald ones. "You're getting quicker with that Sakura-chan."

"So how soon until we're at the academy?" Sakura asked changing the topic.

The blonde guardian's eyes furrowed in thought. "Well if I carry you again we can probably get there by nightfall…"

"Are you serious?" Sakura asked incredulously. "It was supposed to take 2 weeks walking."

"It would have, but now you're giving me free reign to run there and well… I'm kinda fast." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

"Well let's get going then! Let's get rid of this stupid seal!"

Naruto simply smiled at his charge as he got out of his sleeping bag and began sealing things up.

* * *

"Kabuto how close are our forces to our target?" Orochimaru asked with a sinister sneer.

"They're tailing our targets as we speak. Would you like them to attack now?" Kabuto replied.

"No, not yet. I'm not fully prepared for their arrival. Just have them keep tailing for now."

"Hai Orochimaru-sama."

_Soon I shall have my revenge…_ Orochimaru thought as he cruelly smirked.

* * *

Naruto had Sakura in his arms as he ran towards the guardian academy. He had been running for 6 hours now. His charge had decided it was a good idea to go back to sleep after he had been running for a couple of hours.

The closer Naruto got to the academy, the more apprehensive he got. The blonde had far more negative memories than positive ones there after all. He knew that once he got back to the academy he would have to see Danzo again…

A shiver ran down the guardian's spine. Danzo, the man who made his life hell. The man who constantly berated him, and called him a disgrace to his parents' legacy… Naruto really wasn't looking forward to seeing that particular man again…

_FLASHBACK_

_A 14-year-old Naruto, who was recognized as the most powerful student at the academy now that Itachi had gotten a charge, sat in his genjutsu class. The whiskered blonde's lack of good chakra control made casting genjutsus near impossible, and he wasn't very good at sensing when he was under one either. _

_But none of his classmates or even teachers would dare give him crap for it, they knew that he could still easily defeat any one of them in a fight. The blonde was currently trying to cast a simple genjutsu that would make the target see a single item as something else, and failing miserably._

_Just as he was about to attempt again, a heavily bandaged man walked into the classroom. Sapphire eyes caught sight of the man causing Naruto to mentally groan. Danzo walked straight up to him and watched as he attempted to cast the genjutsu. Danzo growled disapprovingly as Naruto again failed._

"_Naruto… you're 14 years old and you still can't cast a simple genjutsu. That's absolutely pathetic. How can you expect to protect a charge if you can't even cast a simple genjutsu? Your parents would be ashamed of you, as a matter of fact, I doubt your parents would even want to acknowledge that you are their son." The bandaged man spat._

_Naruto lowered his head shamefully. "I'm sorry Danzo… I'm…" He whispered quietly._

_The blonde was interrupted by Danzo whipping him across the face with his cane. "What did you call me boy? Someone as pathetic as you has no business calling me Danzo. You will refer to me as Danzo-sama."_

_Naruto resisted the urge to show the bandaged man his strength right then and there. Danzo had been belittling him since as long as he could remember. Everyone in the academy recognized Naruto as the strongest student… except for Danzo. But the blonde knew that if he attacked Danzo to demonstrate his strength, he would be expelled from the academy, which meant a sure execution._

"_I'll keep pushing until I get it Danzo-sama." The whiskered blonde quietly said, his sapphire eyes looking anywhere but the bandaged man._

_Danzo nodded and left the classroom, leaving Naruto to push himself far past his limits._

_FLASH IN_

The whiskered guardian truly hated Danzo. Sure, his relentless berating and pushing helped Naruto become one of the most powerful guardians in the entire order, but he also made the boy's life a living hell.

_I'm definitely not looking forward to seeing Danzo again…_

"Sakura…"

The pink-haired celesti slowly opened her eyes and turned them upwards to the surprisingly nervous sapphire eyes of her guardian.

"We're here; you might want to wake up now."

Naruto slowly set his charge onto her feet, and the pair looked up at the massive gate of the Guardian Academy. The gate was at least 3 stories high and was surrounded by a wall just as high with guard towers that extended slightly higher than the walls.

_This place looks like a prison…_ Sakura thought as she took in the sight. She took another glance at her guardian, and noticed that he still had the same nervous expression on his face.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

The blonde's face quickly transformed into a fake smile.

"Hmm? Nothing's wrong Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked at him suspiciously. _He hasn't talked much about his life at the academy, but from what he's said the people here didn't treat him very well… Maybe he's nervous about facing those people again…_

"Naruto?"

"This time… I'll protect you." Sakura said, flashing a determined smile.

The whiskered guardian blinked at his charge with a look of shock on his face. "…Huh?"

"I know that the people here didn't treat you very well when you were growing up, and I can see that you're nervous about seeing those same people again."

_She figured that out? Am I that easy to read?_

"But this time I'll protect you. If any of them try to do anything that may hurt you, I will stop them." Sakura finished confidently.

The sapphire-eyed guardian continued staring at his celesti dumbly; he couldn't really form any words. The only thing he could do was manage a happy smile. Sakura gave him a quick hug and turned towards the gate.

"Well… shall we?"

"Hai… Let's go Sakura-chan."

* * *

"Danzo-sama, Naruto has arrived. Shall I assassinate him?" A masked man asked.

"No Fu… if Naruto were to be killed all the other council members would instantly assume I was behind it. Unfortunately we must allow Naruto to live… for now." The bandaged man answered.

"Understood Danzo-sama. Shall I alert the other council members of Naruto's arrival then?"

"No, let them find out on their own. I will be the first to greet Naruto." Danzo replied as he walked towards the entrance to the academy.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura walked into the academy entrance, and the young guardian instantly felt a wave of nostalgia hit him as he took in the familiar site. _Even though I haven't been gone for very long, it feels like a lifetime ago that I lived here…_

"Ah Naruto, what brings you back to the academy when you know that guardians aren't supposed to bring their charges here?" A heavily bandaged old man asked in a stern tone.

Naruto instantly tensed up as Danzo neared, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sakura. She also didn't fail to notice the fearful look that briefly showed up in Naruto's eyes each time the old man lifted his cane.

_This guy must've really treated Naruto bad for him to react like this…_ The pink-haired celesti instantly disliked this old man. She took a step forward and stood in front of her guardian protectively.

"We're here to learn more about the Eri-seal." Sakura answered for Naruto. She meant what she said when she told him she was going to protect him here. Her guardian obviously wasn't comfortable around this guy, so she would shield Naruto from him.

"I don't recall asking you celesti." Danzo coldly replied. "I asked Naruto. Or are you so weak Naruto that you can't answer a simple question?"

SMACK!

The sound of a hand meeting a face echoed through the large hall of the academy, causing people walking by to stop and look on in shock at the pink-haired girl with a furious look on her face, and the heavily bandaged man with a surprised look on his.

"Don't you dare call Naruto weak..." Sakura growled. "His strength is the reason I'm still alive. He is stronger than some old man like you could ever hope to be."

Naruto's mouth was agape as his wide sapphire eyes stared at the back of his charge's head. _She just… she just slapped Danzo!_

After a minute, the bandaged man regained his composure and fixed the pink-haired celesti with a glare. "You may be a celesti girl, but don't think that gives you free reign to do whatever you want. I am a member of the guardian council and you will show me the respect I deserve. If you lay another hand on me, I will kill you." He threatened in an icy tone.

Before the old man could say anything more, Naruto was standing directly in front of him with a kunai pressed tightly against his neck.

_He's so fast…_ Danzo thought. _I wasn't even able to track his movement…_

"If you ever threaten my charge again, I will kill you." Naruto growled savagely.

Academy guards started walking towards the whiskered guardian.

"Stop." Danzo called out to the guards before turning his one eye to Naruto. "Naruto and I had a simple misunderstanding, didn't we Naruto?"

The blonde withdrew his kunai from the old man's neck. _Danzo could make my life hell if I threaten him, and if I killed him there's a pretty good chance I would be executed…_ "Yea…just a misunderstanding." He grumbled.

"I assume since you came all this way, you and your charge will be staying here the night?" Danzo "asked" in a commanding tone.

"I…er…" Naruto began stammering quietly.

"We would rather not actually." Sakura interrupted. "We know that my presence here is a distraction to your students, so it would be best if we moved on quickly."

"Nonsense. Our students will be just fine. You two have traveled a long way, you can stay here the night."

"Thank you, but we really would rather not…" Sakura started.

"Naruto…" Danzo interrupted as he looked over the pinkette's shoulder at the sapphire-eyed boy. "Do you really think it would be wise to travel again so soon after such a long journey? Think of your charge's safety."

"He's right Sakura…" Naruto agreed quietly.

"Fine…" Sakura relented.

"Good." Danzo said with a fake smile. Torune!"

"Yes Lord Danzo-sama?" A masked man replied as he appeared from the shadows.

"Show Naruto and his charge to where they'll be staying for the night."

"As you wish Danzo-sama." Torune turned to Naruto and Sakura. "If you'll follow me please."

Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and gave it a squeeze as they followed the masked man through the academy.

* * *

"You knew Naruto had arrived and you didn't alert your fellow council members?" Hiruzen asked with a disapproving look. Word of the incident between Danzo and Naruto and his charge had spread through the academy like wildfire.

"I just happened to be walking by the academy entrance when Naruto walked in." Danzo replied.

"Don't think we don't know about your "Root" organization Danzo. We know you had a sensor at the ready to alert you as soon as Naruto arrived." Chiyo said.

_How did they find out about Root? There must be a traitor in my ranks…_

"I'm afraid…"

"We've known about Root since you first formed it Danzo." Hiruzen interrupted.

"I… I'm sorry. Next time I'll let you know straight away."

"That would be most appreciated Danzo." Homura politely replied.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura sat in the room that Torune had led them too. The masked man told them that they wouldn't be able to meet with the rest of the guardian council, and someone would be sent for them when the council was ready to meet. They had been sitting in the room together for nearly an hour.

The whiskered blonde barely said a word; he just sat there with an uncomfortable and scared look on his face. Her attempts at small take had failed because Naruto seemed too distracted.

_What should I do…_ The pinkette thought as she looked at the uncomfortable boy with a worried look on her face. _I wish I knew more about his life here so I could know how to help him…_ Before Sakura could think anymore, the door to the room they were currently staying in opened.

She blinked in confusion as what appeared to be a square rock with two eyeholes crept through the door. She was only confused more when Naruto suddenly broke into a grin and started chuckling.

"Really Konohamaru? That's the best disguise you got…a square rock? Jeeze I can even see your eyeholes!" The grinning blonde called out to the "rock."

"Give me a break boss, this was the only disguise I had that is currently clean!" The "rock" defended. "I had no idea you were going to be here until Moegi told me what happened between you and Danzo at the academy entrance earlier!"

Naruto's chuckling finally died down as he walked over to the rock. The spiky-haired guardian grabbed a hold of the "rock" and pulled revealing a small boy who looked to be 11 or 12. The boy was wearing the typical orange academy jumpsuit, but unlike many of the other students Sakura had seen, he was wearing a long blue scarf as well.

Naruto ruffled the kid's short spiky brown hair. "Good to see you Konohamaru."

"Same to you boss!" The boy named Konohamaru replied with a large grin. He finally noticed Sakura sitting there quietly taking in the scene with a look of confusion on her face.

"Who's the babe?" Konohamaru asked with a grin.

"The "babe…" Naruto started.

_Did Naruto just refer to me as a babe?_

"Is my charge Sakura. Sakura, this is Konohamaru." The blonde guardian finished. Sakura was slightly surprised when the boy's face dropped just slightly. His smile seemed oddly fake as he "politely" greeted her.

"Oh… so you're Naruto nii-chan's charge…" The scarf wearing boy said in a slightly disgusted tone.

"Hey! Don't use that tone with her!" Naruto admonished, an angry look now on his face.

"I'm sorry boss, but I've just been thinking about this whole guardian system lately. And the knowledge that this girl is going to be the reason you die just makes it hard for me to not dislike her." Konohamaru said honestly.

Sakura's emerald eyes were instantly filled with sorrow as they examined the floor.

"What? Why are you thinking like that?" Naruto asked as he clenched his fist. He never liked seeing Sakura hurt, but after she tried to defend him from Danzo, he refused to allow her to be hurt.

"Itachi and Sasuke came to check up on me because they knew I didn't have you here anymore to look out for me. And while they were here, Itachi and I talked a lot about the guardian system and how messed up it is…"

_Itachi? Why would he attempt to get a promising student to dislike the guardian system? I wonder if this has anything to do with why he cast that genjutsu on Sakura to get her to activate my Eri-seal…_

"Why should we have to sacrifice ourselves for the celesti?" Konohamaru continued. "If we're so powerful that we can protect them, why can't we be the ones to save the world?"

Sakura was nearly in tears at this point as she listened the academy student rant. Seeing his charge's face, Naruto decided he had listened to quite enough of Konohamaru's ranting.

"Konohamaru… I don't know what Itachi told you, but you should never blame a celesti for the guardian system. It's not their fault they were given hidden powers that would one day save the world, and it's not their fault they're hunted for having those hidden powers. They are given their powers for a reason, because no one else has the power needed to stop whatever disaster they need to stop. When we give our lives protecting them, we give our lives to help save the world…"

Tears started forming at the edge of Sakura's eyes as she listened to Naruto's speech. _Naruto… that's a load of crap and he knows it. He's just saying that because he saw how down I looked and is now trying to cheer me up…_

"Naruto stop, you don't need to lie to make me feel better. I know I am nothing but a burden on you…" Sakura interrupted.

The blue circle that Sakura hated so much suddenly glowed around her guardian's neck. _Crap! I accidentally gave him a command!_

Naruto sat there frozen, his body not wanting to disobey his charge's command.

"YOU ACTIVATED HIS ERI-SEAL?" Konohamaru bellowed in rage. "Itachi was right! All celesti don't give a shit about their guardians. To a celesti, a guardian is just their little slave to be sacrificed. WHY THE HELL SHOULD I HAVE TO DIE FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU?"

Now Naruto was angry. Tears were freely falling from Sakura's eyes as Konohamaru yelled at her. The pink-haired girl just stood there crying, her mind clearly wasn't working as a result of being yelled at. _Screw this stupid seal… I'm not going to let Sakura-chan cry._

"SHUT THE HELL UP KONOHAMARU!" Naruto roared, causing the seal to send a wave of searing pain into his neck and through his entire body. The blonde did his best to ignore the pain so that he could protect Sakura.

"You don't know anything about Sakura-chan." Another wave of pain shot through the whiskered boy's body. _Sakura's still crying… I have to continue on. _"Sakura didn't know what the Eri-seal even was when she activated it." The pain from the seal was beginning to overwhelm Naruto, and his face betrayed the agony he was currently in.

"Sakura-chan is different from other celesti…" Naruto gasped as another fresh wave of searing pain shot through his body. "Sakura…cares about my…happiness. Sakura isn't just my charge, she's one of my…" The pain wracking his body forced Naruto to a knee as he let out another gasp of pain.

"She's one of my… most... precious people." The guardian finished. He obeyed the seal and returned to being frozen while he regained enough strength to resist the seal to continue protecting his charge.

Sakura's eyes lit up when Naruto called her one of his precious people; she looked into his pained sapphire eyes with a look of surprise. _Pain… OH SHIT! _"Naruto you can talk and omve freely!" Sakura yelled in a panicked voice as she ran to her guardian and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry I activated the seal. Then I just stood there like an idiot while you resisted it to defend…" Sakura started to mutter.

"Sakura…" Naruto interrupted softly in a slightly exhausted tone. "It's ok, you didn't mean to activate it and you were blindsided by Konohamaru's yelling. Please just stop crying, I hate seeing you cry."

The pinkette stopped her tears with a few sniffles and looked up into the warm sapphire eyes of her guardian. "I'm still sorry…" She whispered.

The blonde grinned back at her. "Hey, I said it was ok didn't I? So stop worrying about it, I'm perfectly fine." That last part was a lie. Naruto's body was still throbbing from the pain the seal had put him through, but he didn't want Sakura to feel any worse.

The pink-haired celesti looked closely into Naruto's eyes. _He's lying… Resisting the seal really hurt him a lot; he's still feeling the after effects. And all just so he could try to defend me when I wasn't in any actual physical danger… I hate being such a burden on you Naruto…_ She knew that if she tried to fuss over Naruto still feeling the effects of the seal, the kind guardian would just shrug it off and tell her not to worry about it, so Sakura decided to ignore it. But that didn't stop her from keeping a careful eye on him.

Naruto turned his attention back to Konohamaru. "I don't know what Itachi told you, but it's a load of crap." The blonde ground out a little more coldly than he intended. Sure right now he was pissed at Konohamaru for what he said to Sakura, but Konohamaru was still like a younger brother to him. Seeing Konohamaru grimace, Naruto's face softened.

"Ah sorry, I didn't mean to say that so coldly." The blonde said gently. "It's just… Sakura-chan has been nothing but good to me ever since I got her as my charge. So I get pissed off when someone hurts her. Konohamaru… stop looking at the guardian system as a system where we get sacrificed for no reason for ungrateful charges."

"But that's what it is boss!" Konohamaru argued.

"I won't lie to you… I got lucky when I got Sakura-chan as my charge; very lucky. Most celesti out there are very indifferent towards their guardians. But you need to look at it from their point of view; they can't afford to let themselves get emotionally attached to a new guardian each time knowing full well that there's a good chance that the guardian will die for them. That's too much heart ache for a person to take, and they need to remain strong so they can fulfill their destiny."

"I never thought it about before that way." Konohamaru relented as a look of understanding dawned on his face. His now guilty black eyes flashed to Sakura.

"I'm sorry for what I said before Sakura… I should've given you a chance instead of assuming the worst." The scarf wearer said.

Sakura smiled at the young boy. "It's ok; I can see that you're close to Naruto. You were just trying to defend your friend. I would have probably done in the same thing if I were in your shoes."

Konohamaru looked back at her with a look filled with surprise. From what he was taught in classes, plus what Itachi told him, any other celesti would have been chewing him out for his outburst.

"Wow boss, you weren't kidding." The boy said with a smile. "You really did get lucky. You got a babe AND she's pretty cool!" The boy's smile turned into a lecherous smirk as he looked between the guardian and the celesti.

"So are you two boyfriend and girlfriend yet?"

Naruto and Sakura both blushed and looked away from one another.

"Konohamaru… shut up." The whiskered guardian grumbled.

"What? I was just asking a question nii-chan!"

"Well that's a stupid question!" Naruto retorted. Naruto's response was followed by an awkward silence as Konohamaru continued lecherously grinning at the two.

Sakura looked at Naruto with a slightly surprised expression. _He didn't say no right away... Before he would've instantly said that we aren't boyfriend and girlfriend… but he still hasn't denied it..._

"So you never answered my question boss." Konohamaru grinned.

Naruto sighed. "No, we are not officially boyfriend and girlfriend."

_Not officially? _Sakura thought excitedly. _Does that mean he's open to the idea?_

"Not officially? So that means you two have done stuff but you just haven't decided to take the next step and enter into a relationship with one another!" The young academy student pushed.

_For a student at an academy that frowns upon and advises against relationships between guardian academies, Konohamaru sure is pushing this…_ Naruto thought grumpily.

"We haven't done anything yet!" Sakura quipped as she saw a slightly grumpy expression on Naruto's face. _I must have misinterpreted what he was saying before…_

"Oh haven't done anything yet eh?"

Sakura's face now matched the color of her hair.

"Leave her alone Konohamaru." Naruto intervened once he noticed how embarrassed Sakura was getting.

"Hey I was just…"

"Well stop twirp, or else I'll have to embarrass you in a spar again." Naruto said with a smirk.

"I know you haven't been away from here for long, but I've gotten a lot better since you last left! I could take you out with one move now." The academy student boasted proudly.

"Really? I'd like to see you try." The guardian challenged.

"Ok boss, but you asked for it!"

_Whatever this technique is, it must be powerful if he thinks he can beat Naruto with it._

"Oiroke: Onnanoko Doshi no Jutsu!" Konohamaru yelled, and instantly two naked brunette women were pressing their large breasts together in the cover of clouds.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT YOU LITTLE PERVERT?" Sakura yelled angrily.

"This is my ultimate technique, not even the boss can handle this one!" The brunette on the left replied in a sexy tone.

Sakura opened her mouth to berate the boy, but Naruto beat her to the punch.

"Konohamaru, you're never going to defeat anyone with that technique." Naruto said calmly with a small smile. "I'll show you a technique that you can instantly defeat an opponent with."

Sakura looked at Naruto with a proud smile. _That's right Naruto. Set this perverted boy straight! You're probably going to show him your rasenshuriken… or maybe your wind explosion… _She watched in anticipation as Naruto formed a crossed seal with his hands.

"Haremu no Jutsu!" The blonde yelled excitedly.

_Haremu no Jutsu? I haven't seen him use this one yet!_ _I bet this is going to be some sort of awesome attack!_

The room was filled with puffs of smoke which cleared partially to reveal naked busty blonde female versions of Naruto who were clinging to Konohamaru and moaning. The young academy student fell over with a nose bleed and a perverted grin on his face.

"That's how you take out someone with…"

WHAM!

Naruto's boasting was interrupted by his charge's fist connecting with the back of his head. The blonde guardian was now on the floor in a crumpled heap.

"NARUTO YOU PERVERT! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF TECHNIQUE IS THAT? WHY DO YOU EVEN KNOW IT? AND WHY WOULD YOU SHOW THAT TECHNIQUE TO A LITTLE BOY?" Sakura roared with white eyes.

"I'm not little, I'm 12!" Konohamaru said indignantly as he stood up, fully recovered from Naruto's "attack."

"Sakura-chaan… that hurt." Naruto whined.

"That's what you get for being a pervert, and teaching little kids your pervertedness!" Sakura huffed as she stood over him with her arms crossed.

Naruto slowly picked himself up from the ground. "Say what you will, but it's a fairly effective technique Sakura-chan." The blonde mumbled.

Sakura began pounding her fist into the palm of her other hand as she looked at the powerful guardian with an angry glare.

"Huh? Did you say something?" The pinkette asked, daring her protector to repeat what he just said.

Naruto didn't know why, but for some reason seeing Sakura like this kind of scared him. She was surprisingly strong. Technically he could easily beat her in a fight… but that didn't make him fear her fist any less.

"Ne… nothing Sakura-chan!" The blonde replied while flashing an apologetic smile. Seeing her guardian's smile calmed the pink-haired celesti down a little.

Konohamaru sat watched the scene unfold with a sweat drop. _Maybe boss didn't get so lucky after all… She's really scary when she gets mad!_

"Naruto, I think it would be in your best interest never to use that technique again." Sakura warned in an overly sweet tone. "You too Konohamaru."

Both guardian and guardian-to-be gulped and nodded their heads. "We won't!" They replied in unison causing Sakura to smile.

"Good!" The girl said in a bright tone.

A knock on the door interrupted the moment, and what looked to be an academy guard opened the door.

"Naruto, the council members are ready to see you now. If you would follow me please."

"Ok. We gotta go Konohamaru, maybe I'll see you again before we leave."

"It was nice meeting you Konohamaru." Sakura added politely.

"I hope so boss! And it was nice meeting you too Sakura."

Naruto and Sakura left Konohamaru and followed the guard. The pinkette stared at Naruto intently and was pleasantly surprised to find there was no hint of nervousness that had plagued his face since they first entered the academy.

_It looks like seeing Konohamaru really loosened Naruto up… Good. I'm glad he's not so nervous anymore. I just hope these council members don't affect him like Danzo did. I don't ever want to see Naruto that scared and nervous again._

_

* * *

_

"Kabuto, I've made my preparations. Tell our forces it's time to capture our targets." Orochimaru commanded with a sick smile.

"Hai Orochimaru-sama." The white-haired man replied.

The pale snake-like man gazed at a glass tank that was filled with green liquid. _Soon I can start working on my greatest creation yet._

_

* * *

_

Yosh! Another chapter down! Next chapter is the last chapter of the intro arc, and then we will be off on the Eri-seal removal arc! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please let me know your thoughts via a review =)_  
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	9. The Truth Revealed

Eek! Nearly a month without an update. My humble apologies, see the bottom of this page for my explanation. I again have time to regularly update, so you don't have to worry about waiting a month for the next update (only a week instead) =) Anywho...

Shout out/My Thanks to everyone who reviewed since last time: Tea Unicorn, cmcwiki, Lunar-Ice-Wolf, Echo Uchiha, holydemon00, Darious Frost, melapoy, Footster26, Sasuke Uzumaki, AngelDemonSakura, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, Celeste, xNINJABLADE45x

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Tea Unicorn: I'm glad you enjoyed it, and sorry for the wait on this chapter =) I really enjoyed writing Naruto defending Sakura from Konohamaru!

cmcwiki: =P You made me literally laugh out loud when I read "she slaps da bitch." I'm not sure if we're going to see the mole in this story or not, mainly because I can't think of a root member to use. I would use Sai, but I have plans for him to show up as a guardian later on in the story. I could make an OC, but I try to stay away from them when I can.

Lunar-Ice-Wolf: Hehe, nah. That was a spur of the moment kind of thing =) I DO plan on adding Lee later down the story as a guardian.

Echo Uchiha: =)

holydemon00: Lol. Sometimes you just gotta let the squeal out =P

Darious Frost: Hehe. It's always fun to write about Danzo getting bitch slapped. He may get more of what's coming to him later on down the line of this story, if it goes on long enough (like past the first two story arcs I have planned). We will definitely be seeing Ino, and she will have a new guardian. I'm not saying who though!

melapoy: Glad you enjoyed it =) I'm not exactly sure which guard you're referring to? As for Orochimaru's plans... you'll just have to read on and see!

Footster26: Sorry for the delayed update! Read on to find out more about that damned Orochimaru! =)

Sasuke Uzumaki: I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far =) So for the delay in this chapter, but you can expect weekly updates again!

AngelDemonSakura: Thanks for the kind words =) I don't think Sakura is going to get super strength in this story, simply because if a celesti could unlock all these powers what use would they have for a guardian? She will be the one to ultimately save the world (being a celesti and all), but healing is the only type of chakra related techniques she'll be able to use. That's not to say that she'll just sit there weak and helpless. Naruto IS training her after all, and she will eventually be trained in kinjutsu as well. I'm trying to take it slow between them, because they really have only been together for a few weeks at this point. So no make out sessions are currently planned in the immediate future! My apologies to you, and your relative the Pervy Sage =P

Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: Hehe. There are no plans to try to give Naruto or Sakura the curse mark, that devious bastard has other plans in mind. My apologies for making you wait in suspense for so long, I hope you still have some hair left! =P

Celeste: Thanks! I'm glad you like it =) This idea is just something I had floating around in my head for a while and finally decided to put it to paper...word document =P

xNINJABLADE45x: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy it so far =)

* * *

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and I would own one of those mini-giraffes that the rich Russian guy has on the DirectTV commercials. How could would owning a mini-giraffe be? If only they were real...

Alright, it has taken FAR too long for this update to get up here. So without further adieu, please do enjoy, "Guardian"-Chapter 9: The Truth Revealed

* * *

Jiraiya slowly opened his eyes as he heard the sound of water dripping. The white-haired man's memory was foggy as he tried to remember where he was. Currently he was tied to a post with rope that seemed to be draining all of his chakra… He faced a tube with green liquid in it. There was someone floating inside of the tube, with a breathing apparatus hooked up to her.

_TSUNADE!_ Jiraiya's eyes widened as he began struggling against his bindings. "Tsunade, are you ok?" Jiraiya yelled.

A sick laughter came from somewhere behind him, and filled the entire room.

"Ah Jiraiya… so you're awake." Called a voice that Jiraiya would never forget.

* * *

"Welcome back Naruto." Greeted Sarutobi. Naruto and Sakura stood in front of 13 elders, which the pinkette assumed was the Guardian Council. Sakura instantly tensed up when she saw Danzo, remembering his effect on her guardian.

Naruto grinned at Sarutobi. "Thanks old man."

"Naruto, I believe you know the consequences of not showing your elders the proper respect." Danzo called in a threatening tone. Sakura's fist clenched and she took a step forward, but Hiruzen's voice stopped her from doing anything else.

"Calm down Danzo. I am an old man after all. Now what brings you here Naruto?"

"My charge activated my Eri seal without knowing what it actually is. We came here because she wants to remove the seal, and I figured you guys might have an idea."

"Oh?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and shot Sakura an amused smile. "I think you might be the very first celesti to ever actually seek to remove a guardian's Eri seal."

"That dumb seal just hurts Naruto over and over! I don't want him to be my slave; I don't even know why you would put them on any guardian to begin with." Sakura said with an angry expression on her face.

The faces of the council members lit up in surprise at the pink-haired girl's response, except for Danzo's. He stared at Sakura with a disgusted look on his face. Before he could open his mouth, Hiruzen's laughter filled the chamber.

"I see. You're a very interesting celesti. Each guardian has an Eri seal placed on them in case they try to shirk away from their duty. It's a very rare occurrence, but we can't afford the risk of a guardian deciding they don't want to protect their charge. It's a necessary evil."

"Well Naruto doesn't need it. He's already proven that he will protect me with his life. So tell me how to get rid of this damn seal." Sakura ground out.

Hiruzen frowned. "Unfortunately the Eri seal wasn't designed by the guardians. We only know how to place the seal, not how to remove it."

"What? Why the hell would you…" Sakura started angrily.

"But…" Hiruzen interrupted. "Naruto's father's family is the one who designed the seal. So perhaps if you find out Minato's last name…"

"Hiruzen no!" Danzo interrupted harshly. "You cannot let the boy find out his last name. Think of what happened the last time we allowed someone to embrace their family."

"Naruto is different from him Danzo, and this is the only chance to fulfill his charge's wish." Hiruzen calmly replied.

"Wait… shouldn't your records have my father's last name from when he first came to the academy? If you don't know the name, how do you know the seal originated from my father's family?" Naruto asked.

"As soon as a person enters the guardian academy all records of their last name are erased, and all ties to their family are cut." Danzo said. "Guardians have no business knowing anything about their families. That knowledge only gets in the way of their duty."

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled angrily. "Everyone has a right to know about their family!" Her emerald eyes went back to Hiruzen.

Danzo opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Chiyo.

"I think Naruto has proven that he will be able to handle the knowledge of his family Danzo. Look at the way he's standing right now. If anyone were to try to make an attempt to harm Sakura they would be dead before they could blink." Chiyo said as she stared at Sakura. She liked this pink-haired girl, she had spunk.

Sakura blinked in surprise s she looked at her guardian. She hadn't even realized it until now, but Naruto's muscles were tensed as if he was ready to make a move in a millisecond, and his body was subtly positioned slightly towards her. She guessed he was on the alert even now because of Danzo's presence.

"I agree entirely with Chiyo. As for the second part of your question Naruto, we know that the seal was created by your father's family because your father had a natural talent for seals. His proclivity could only come if he has the blood of great seal masters. Your father is also the only guardian who knew of the Eri seal before entering the academy."

"So you don't know what Naruto's father last name was, and he's not here for us to ask…" Sakura stared at Hiruzen expectantly, waiting for him to explain.

"Minato had a very close relationship with a former teacher here, Jiraiya. There's a good chance that Minato might have told Jiriaiya his last name, or where his family is from."

"Jiraiya? I already met him. So I gotta find that old pervert again huh…" Naruto said thoughtfully, causing Hiruzen to roar in laughter.

"Old pervert? What an accurate description of Jiraiya…"

"Excuse me Hiruzen-sama…" An academy guard said as he suddenly burst into the room. "I have dire news." The man stopped and looked at Naruto and Sakura, waiting for them to leave.

"It's ok, Naruto and Sakura can hear this." Hiruzen told the guard.

"Hai… It seems Orochimaru has managed to capture not just a guardian this time, but a guardian and his charge."

"What?" Danzo asked. "How? Who did he capture?"

"Our sources tell us that Orochimaru has captured Jiraiya and Tsunade. He apparently intends to experiment on both of them."

"Tsunade and Jiraiya are both old. It would take up too much manpower to rescue them from Orochimaru's grasps. As much as I don't want Orochimaru having a celesti to experiment on, Tsunade isn't worth the sacrifice of our forces. At her age, it is unlikely she'll face her destiny anyways." Danzo said calmly.

"WHAT?" Sakura roared. "YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE'S LIFE HERE!" The pinkette really didn't know who this Orochimaru was, but judging from the faces of the council members, Tsunade, the woman that stopped and helped her and Naruto, was in grave danger.

"Shut up girl, this has nothing to do with you."

"Sakura and I will rescue them. I can handle anything Orochimaru can throw at us while protecting Sakura." The surprisingly calm voice of Naruto rang through the room.

"Absolutely not." Danzo replied. "Your duty is to protect your charge. If you tried to rescue Jiraiya and Tsunade you'd be putting her in extreme danger. Orochimaru is not a foe to be underestimated."

"Jiraiya and Tsunade helped Naruto and me when we were in need. I will not stand by and do nothing while they need our help." Sakura protested defiantly.

"Stupid girl… it's not your…"

"Listen, you sent Itachi to save me." Naruto interrupted. "So send me to save Jiraiya. Itachi rescued me and both he and Sasuke are just fine."

"Are you stupid boy?" Danzo sneered. "We would never send a guardian with a charge to rescue another guardian. We didn't send Itachi to rescue you."

"What do you mean? Itachi said he was sent by you to stop Naruto from sacrificing himself with his blood angel release."

"So your blood angel release is a sacrificial technique eh?" Danzo said thoughtfully, much to Naruto's annoyance.

Sakura's eyes went wide with surprise. _Shit! I never considered that Naruto might hold information from those who hurt him when he was younger…_

"We have more important things to worry about than Naruto's techniques Danzo." Hiruzen said with a grave look on his face. His eyes fell upon the sapphire eyes of the young guardian.

"Naruto… you said Itachi came to rescue. Care to explain?"

"Well… I was ambushed by a former guardian named Deidara. I managed to defeat him, but was instantly attacked by Hidan and Kakuzu…"

"I thought Hidan and Kakuzu died attempting to defend their charges?" Koharu interrupted.

"So Itachi has turned them against us as well…" Danzo mused.

"Nani? What do you mean Itachi turned them against us?" Naruto suddenly interrupted.

"That's the reason we're actually glad you're here Naruto." Hiruzen said gravely. "Itachi has betrayed the order and turned against us. We have heard that he's made a move to get you to join him as well."

"Itachi…has betrayed us? Why?" Naruto stuttered. His entire body suddenly felt cold. _No… Itachi would never betray the order. His little brother is a celesti, he would never want to destroy the order that protects his little brother…_

"Yes Naruto. Itachi has betrayed us. He's been "freeing" guardians as he says, by helping them kill their charges. Once their charges are dead, the former guardians join him. He calls his new group "The Akatsuki." We don't know what all of the Akatsuki's goals are yet, but we do know that they plan on destroying the order.

Konohamaru's words flashed through Naruto's mind.

"_Itachi and Sasuke came to check up on me because they knew I didn't have you here anymore to look out for me. And while they were hear, Itachi and I talked a lot about the guardian system and how messed up it is…"_

_No… Itachi wouldn't…_ But the more Naruto thought about, the more everything made sense. Itachi casting the genjutsu on Sakura, Itachi "coming to his rescue." That had seemed all too fishy. A wave of sorrow crashed through the whiskered blonde's body.

"Well you guys don't have to worry, Naruto won't betray the order." Sakura spoke up confidently. The good mood that Naruto had been in before meeting the council was long gone now. Her guardian was now trying to hide a depressed look behind an indifferent mask.

"We know that…" Hiruzen started.

"Do we Hiruzen?" Danzo interrupted. "Naruto was very close to Itachi. What's to stop him from joining Itachi and betraying us?"

"Danzo, Naruto…"

"Sakura-chan." Naruto interrupted. "Sakura is what is going to stop me from joining Itachi."

Sakura looked at Naruto in surprise. "Naruto?"

"Itachi… I don't know why or how, but Itachi wants to hurt Sakura. He cast a genjutsu on her to force her to activate my seal. And Sasuke is the one that convinced Sakura to activate the seal in the first place. You said earlier that Itachi has been helping guardians kill their charges… I think… I think Itachi is trying to get me to hate Sakura-chan, so that I will want to kill her."

"That sounds like it could be true." Chiyo agreed. "So how does that ensure your loyalty to the order?"

"My loyalty is no longer to the order. My loyalty is to Sakura, and Sakura alone. I will destroy anyone who wishes to harm her." Naruto replied in an icy tone.

"Do you see?" Danzo addressed the rest of the order. "He has no loyalty to us. Eventually Itachi is going to taint his mind, and he will want to kill his charge…"

Danzo was interrupted by having a kunai tightly pressed against his throat for the second time in a day. Naruto's now toad-like eyes were blazing with anger as they bore into Danzo's.

"I will NEVER hurt Sakura-chan, and if you keep saying that I will, then I will kill you." The angry sage growled.

"Naruto calm down. Danzo, we have nothing to fear from Naruto. Fortunately for us, Itachi made the mistake of threatening his charge."

At Hiruzen's words Naruto withdrew his kunai from Danzo's throat and returned to a completely startled Sakura's side.

_I knew he cared about me… but he's so protective of me… And he would really choose me over Itachi? He's only known me for a short while. He's known Itachi for so much longer, and Itachi helped him get through this place… Why would he choose me?_

"Fine… but I'll be watching you boy. Give me one reason to think you betrayed us and I will end your pathetic existence." Danzo warned.

This time it was Sakura's turn to attack Danzo.

"DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN NARUTO!" The pinkette roared as she rushed towards the heavily bandaged man. She fully intended to pummel him until he begged for mercy. Before she could reach Danzo however, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"Sakura-chan… he's not worth it." The calm voice of Naruto softly rang through her ear. The celesti relaxed and reflexively leaned back into her guardian's arms. Hiruzen watched the whole scene unfold with an amused smirk.

"Please refrain from threatening the lives of our guardians Danzo. Now Naruto, now that you know the truth about Itachi… what will you do when he comes for you again?"

"If Itachi comes after me again… I will try to save him from whatever darkness has taken over his soul… But if he threatens Sakura again, I will kill him without hesitation." Naruto replied in an emotionless tone.

Sakura looked over her shoulder at Naruto's face. He had a mask of impassiveness on his face, but Sakura noticed the slight cracks of sorrow in that mask.

"Very good. Now, as for your earlier request… I'm afraid we still cannot allow you to go after Jiraiya. I would like nothing more than to send you, but it would be putting Sakura in extreme danger. We simply cannot allow that Naruto. I'm sorry."

"That's ridiculous! I'll be fine, Naruto will protect me!

"Neither you nor Naruto know what Orochimaru is truly capable of. If you went after Jiraiya and Tsunade you would have to storm his base, a base filled with people and even guardians that he has experimented on and turned into powerful monsters.

"So you expect us to just stand around and do nothing while the two people who saved our lives are in danger?"

"I'm sorry Sakura, but that's the way it must be. Your destiny is too important to risk." Chiyo answered for Hiruzen.

"And how are we going to find out Naruto's father's last name then?" Sakura continued. "I refuse to sit around while this stupid seal continues to hurt him!"

"Unfortunately Sakura, it appears you're going to have to do just that." Hiruzen responded gravely.

Sakura clenched her fists together and opened her mouth to retort, but the voice of the guardian whose arms were still wrapped around her hips beat her to it.

"Hai, thank you old man for the information. If that's all, Sakura and I should probably get to bed. We're going to be leaving early in the morning."

"That's fine. It was good seeing you again Naruto. And it was good meeting you Sakura."

"You too Hiruzen-sama." Sakura politely replied.

"Now then…" Chiyo spoke up with a mischievous smirk as she stared at Sakura, who was still leaning back into Naruto. "Will you two require a one-bed room, or a two-bed room?"

Chiyo's words suddenly made Sakura and Naruto realize the position they had been in and they quickly disentangled from each other with embarrassed blushes on their face.

"A two-bed room please." Naruto said. Chiyo's laughter filled the room, and was soon joined by the laughter of all of the council members except for Danzo.

"Of course of course. This guard will take you to your room."

"I already provided them with a room." Danzo spoke up in annoyed tone.

"And I'm providing them with a different one Danzo." Chiyo retorted. The bandaged man hid his anger well as he simply nodded at his peer.

"This way Naruto-san, Sakura-san." A guard curtly said.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura had gone to bed hours ago, yet Naruto was still awake, staring dully at the ceiling.

_Itachi… why are you doing this?_ The jinchuriki let out a silent sigh. Although he hid it from Sakura and the rest of the council, he was still in a state of shock. Itachi had been like a brother to him… He had been one of the few kind people in the academy.

"_Now Naruto, now that you know the truth about Itachi… what will you do when he comes for you again?" _

What would he do? He confidently told the council that he would save Itachi, and kill him if he couldn't save him. But how could he possibly save the man he considered an older brother? He had no idea what could have caused Itachi to betray the order, so how could he expect to save Itachi when he doesn't even know what the problem is?

_Can I really kill Itachi? In front of the council, I could only think about Itachi wanting to hurt Sakura, so the words rolled off my tongue easily. But can I really kill Itachi? _

"What am I going to do…" Naruto muttered softly.

"Naruto?"

* * *

Sakura and Naruto had went to bed hours ago, yet Sakura was still awake, staring happily at the ceiling as thoughts continued to go through her mind.

"_My loyalty is no longer to the order. My loyalty is to Sakura, and Sakura alone. I will destroy anyone who wishes to harm her."_

The celesti knew that Naruto cared for her, he called her one of his precious people. But she never would have guessed that he would choose her over the very order that raised him.

"_But if he threatens Sakura again, I will kill him without hesitation." _Sakura still couldn't get over Naruto's words. She still couldn't believe that Naruto would so quickly choose her over the man who was like a brother to him.

_He's been much more open to me lately… I wonder if he has feelings for me like I have feelings for him…_

"What am I going to do…" Naruto's voice softly whispered. There was a sense of hopelessness his voice.

"Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan? You're still awake?"

_Crap, I hope she didn't hear me…_ The guardian thought worriedly.

"Ya… I can't stop thinking long enough to fall asleep. Are you ok?"

"Of course, I'm fine Sakura!" Naruto lied. _She's done enough for me here. I'm not going to burden Sakura with anymore of my troubles._

Sakura however, wasn't fooled. "Please don't lie to me Naruto. I know that something is wrong. You can tell me. I want you to tell me…"

"Sakura… it's nothing. I'm fine. Just go to sleep, ok?"

Instead of going to sleep as her guardian requested, Sakura got out of her bed and walked over and sat down on the bed Naruto was currently laying in.

"You are not fine. Something is wrong." She took Naruto's hand into her own and looked down at him. He was doing a good job of masking that something was wrong with his face, but Sakura could tell when she looked down into his sapphire eyes that something was truly troubling him.

Naruto looked away from his charge's beautiful emerald eyes. "Sakura… you don't need to worry about it. You've already done enough here. I'll be fine soon enough."

"It's Itachi isn't it… that's what's troubling you."

Naruto sighed. "It's just… Itachi is the closest thing I've ever had to family. And now he's my enemy… I don't know how to save him… I'm going to have to kill my older brother…"

"Naruto…" Sakura lay down next to her guardian and embraced him tightly. "I'm so sorry this has happened to you… And if Itachi is that important to you, then I don't want to make you choose between me and him. So Naruto, if Itachi comes after me again, I order you to…"

"You're more important to me now than Itachi, Sakura-chan." Naruto quickly interrupted softly before his charge could finish the command. "I will always choose you, and I will never regret choosing you over him." The guardian snaked his arms around his charge's waist and held her tightly. "So please don't order me to choose Itachi."

A warm feeling spread through Sakura's entire body as she listened to Naruto. _He will always choose me?_

"Naruto… I…"

"I really care about you Sakura, and not just because you're my charge. I know as a guardian I shouldn't be letting myself feel this way, but I can't help it." Naruto again interrupted. "I'm not entirely sure what these feelings mean yet, but what I do know for sure is that you are my most precious person, and I will not lose you."

Sakura stared at Naruto with a completely surprised look on her pretty face. _I'm his most precious person?_

"Do you… do you mean that?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yes Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled at her guardian. "Well I really care about you too Naruto. And I will not lose you."

For the first time since being told of Itachi's betrayal, a genuine smile flitted across Naruto's face. All the sadness, worry, hurt and anger that had been plaguing his body disappeared with his charge's words.

"Do you mean that Sakura-chan?"

"Of course I do Naruto."

The guardian pulled his charge tighter against his body and rested his chin on the top of her head. Sakura burrowed her face into his strong chest, and the two lay that way for a couple of minutes. The pinkette felt completely at ease now.

But her mind wandered back to the duo that was one of the main reasons for both her and Naruto currently being alive. Without Tsunade and Jiraiya she would never have gotten to experience this moment, she would never have gotten to feel this intoxicating warmth.

"Naruto… what are we going to do about Tsunade and Jiraiya?" She didn't have to look up to know that Naruto now was sporting a mischievous grin, she could just feel it.

"Well, I planted a henged shadow clone in the room as we left which heard where Jiraiya and Tsunade are being held captive. Of course, I'm forbidden from taking you there."

"Screw that! They're in danger!"

Naruto chuckled at his charge. "Well, I may not be able to take you there Sakura-chan… But if you decide to go there, then I will need to go to protect you." Naruto explained. Realization dawned over Sakura and she let out a small chuckle of her own.

"I see. So tomorrow I'm going to march straight into this Orochimaru's hideout then, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Sakura said playfully, earning another chuckle from the man whose chest her face was currently buried in.

"Oh no! What have I done? I guess I'll just have to go with you then." Sakura lifted her head from her guardian's chest, effectively removing his chin from the top of her head. Emerald eyes clashed with sapphire as both guardian and celesti shot the other a soft and happy smile.

She gave Naruto a quick peck on the lips and returned her face back to his comfortable chest.

"You better get your rest then. We have a long day in front us tomorrow. Good night Naruto-kun."

"Good night Sakura-chan."

Naruto and Sakura drifted off to sleep with a happy smile on their face.

* * *

"Thank you all for coming." Hiruzen addressed the small gathering of council members who had arrived in his room in secret. "As I'm sure you're aware, Naruto planted a shadow clone in the room as he and his charge left. He knows where Jiraiya and his charge are. I asked you all to come here so we can figure out how to best handle this situation."

Hiruzen paused and took a sip of water as he composed his thoughts. "As you know, Danzo is looking for an excuse to kill Naruto. If he gets wind of Naruto disobeying direct orders to go after Jiraiya and Tsunade, I fear that he will send his Root operatives to execute Naruto on charges of treason."

"Naruto is quite powerful, I'm not so sure if Danzo has anyone strong enough to kill him." Koharu spoke up.

"Don't underestimate the power of Root. Danzo trains them to be perfect soldiers; they will all use a sacrificial technique to take Naruto out without a second thought if Danzo orders it." Hiruzen warned.

"Then I guess we just have to give Naruto the order to go save Jiraiya then." Chiyo said with a smile.

"I'm glad someone else agrees with me. We will bring it up to vote tomorrow, I hope you'll all band with me."

"We would be stupid not to be Hiruzen. We can't let Danzo kill our most promising guardian now can we?" Chiyo chuckled.

* * *

Sakura woke up to a knock on the door. Her head face was resting against something soft, but firm. She blearily opened her eyes and blushed when she saw Naruto's chest. Memories from last night flashed through her mind and she smiled softly. She was about to close her eyes and drift back to sleep when someone knocked on the door again.

She grumbled as she left Naruto's arms to answer the door. Flinging the door open, she shot and the academy guard an annoyed and angry glare.

"What?"

"Good morning Sakura-san. The council has summoned both you and Naruto. They are expecting the both of you in the council chamber in 15 minutes." The academy guard quickly said. He was anxious to deliver his message and get far away from this pink-haired girl who had the courage to slap Danzo, and had been shooting him a death glare ever since she opened the door.

"Fine. We'll be there." Sakura sighed. The academy guard quickly walked away. The celesti turned and walked over to her guardian and gently shook him.

"Naruto… Naruto wake up."

Tired sapphire eyes slowly opened, and upon seeing her, a smile flitted across his face. "Mmm… good morning Sakura-chan."

Sakura returned Naruto's smile. "Morning. Now get up, we've been summoned by the council."

_Why would the council summon us? They know we plan on leaving today… Maybe they detected my shadow clone… Crap…_

"Damnit… Alright let's go."

* * *

"Good morning Naruto, Sakura. I trust you slept well?" Hiruzen greeted the duo as they walked into the council chamber.

"Slept great old man!" Naruto replied with a grin, expertly hiding his anxiety.

"Enough with stupid pleasantries, Hiruzen why did you call us all here?" Danzo asked in an annoyed tone. "Some of us have more important things to do with our time than talk to a guardian whom we've already met with."

"I've called Naruto and Sakura here, because I would like to put to vote that we send them to rescue Jiraiya and Tsunade."

Danzo glared across at Hiruzen. _So… he figured out my plan… Damnit, I can't let this get passed. This is my only opportunity to kill Naruto and protect the order from his betrayal._

"Our policy is very clear Hiruzen, guardians don't seek battle. We never send a guardian to rescue another guardian. If you really want to rescue Jiraiya that badly then we can send a battalion of guards." Danzo calmly said, expertly hiding the anger he was currently feeling towards HIruzen. He smiled a little when he saw many of his fellow council members nodding their heads in agreement.

"Orochimaru is too powerful for a battalion of our guards. The only chance we have of rescuing those two without casualties is by sending someone with Naruto's level of power. He is one of the few in our order who can stand toe to toe with Orochimaru." Hiruzen retorted.

"If this were a few months ago, I might agree with you Hiruzen. But Naruto has a charge now, we cannot allow him to put her in danger. What if Naruto fails and his charge is killed, what happens when she needs to fulfill her destiny? You're putting the entire world in danger." Danzo inwardly smirked when he saw more of the council members shaking their heads in agreement.

_Naruto must die before he betrays us. You cannot save him Hiruzen._

"Naruto won't…"

"Sakura-san, please remain quiet." Chiyo quickly interrupted the pink-haired girl. "Danzo, you bring up the exact point I wanted to focus on in this debate. Naruto has a charge. She's unlike any other celesti this order has encountered before. She's stubborn, she doesn't give up, and she cares deeply about those around her, whether or not they're a guardian. Even if we try to stop them, she will go after Jiraiya and Tsunade on her own, which will inevitably draw Naruto after her. Since they're going to end up going after Orochimaru anyways, we might as well help them. Besides, who knows what Orochimaru could create if given enough time with a celesti like Tsunade."

A look of understanding flitted across the faces of the council members that had previously been agreeing with Danzo. The bandaged man inwardly swore.

"We could just restrain Sakura here then." Danzo offered. "That way she won't put herself in danger."

"You know that doesn't work Danzo." Hiruzen butted in. "If we have her restrained here, she will never have a chance to embrace her destiny."

"And if she dies she won't have a chance either." Danzo retorted.

"Well then… that means that either we keep her here, where she won't be able to face her destiny, or send her and her guardian after Orochimaru where she at least has a chance of survival, and therefore still has a chance at facing her destiny." Chiyo replied.

"Well said Chiyo." Hiruzen agreed. "Let's put this to a vote then. All in favor of allowing Naruto and Sakura to go after Jiraiya and Tsunade?" All of the council members except for Danzo raised their hands, which caused Naruto to grin.

"All those opposed?" Only Danzo raised his hand, and Sakura shot him a mocking smile.

"Ok then, it's decided. Naruto you and your charge are to rescue Jiraiya and Tsunade from Orochimaru."

"Alright! We won't let you down old man!" Naruto replied excitedly. "Let's go Sakura-chan!" The young guardian turned to leave with his charge.

"Wait Naruto!" Hiruzen's voice called out. "Before you leave, stop by the Charge's Hall to get some supplies."

Naruto glanced over his shoulder and gave Hiruzen a grateful smile. "Will do, thanks old man!"

* * *

"Ah Jiraiya… how are you feeling?" Orochimaru asked in his sickening tone.

"What the hell are you doing to her?" Jiraiya yelled.

"There's no need for yelling Jiraiya. I'm simply working on a way to unleash her hidden powers, you should be happy. Once her powers are unleashed, she will finally be able to stop running all the time."

Jiraiya didn't miss the fact that Orochimaru left him out. "So that's how you're going to get revenge. Dangle a chance at spending my life with the woman I love in front of my eyes just before killing me… That's sick even for you." Jiraiya spat sullenly.

Orochimaru's sickening laughter filled the room. "Oh no Jiraiya, I'm not going to kill you. You see, the method I'm currently testing to bring out your charge's hidden powers draws those powers out at the price of her mind. By the time I've drawn her full power out, she will simply be a powerful mindless drone for me to control. The "woman you love," as you described her, will be the one to kill you."

A cold feeling shot though Jiraiya's entire body. He stared at the green tank that his charge was currently floating in.

"You sick bastard!"

* * *

Sakura was on Naruto's back and the two were quickly running towards Orochimaru's hideout. They knew that time was of the essence. The pink-haired celesti glanced at the man whose back she was currently riding on.

In addition to getting some rations which Naruto sealed away, the old man behind the counter had given him a new dark grey chainmail mesh undershirt, just like the one he had worn when they first met. Just like the one Deidara's explosion had melted into his back.

Shaking that gruesome thought from her mind, she examined his new cloak. It was like his old one, but instead of being khaki colored with red lines, it was black with blue lines. The old man had given her a matching cloak which she wore over her regular outfit as well.

She chuckled a little when she recalled their meeting.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Oh Naruto! Back again already eh? And with your charge this time? Wow, she's even more beautiful than her file made her look! You're even luckier than I thought!" The old man grinned as Naruto blushed._

"_Shut up old man…" Naruto mumbled._

"_What was that Naruto?" Sakura asked in a threatening tone. She didn't know who this old man was, but she already liked him. A girl liked to be told she was beautiful. _

"_I said I know old man." Naruto quickly said with a slight hint of nervousness in his voice._

_FLASH IN_

"What's so funny Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about earlier is all. How soon are we going to get Orochimaru's hideout?"

"I'm going to need to be at my full strength for this, so unfortunately I can't afford to use my chakra to enhance my speed. It's going to take us three days."

"I just hope we're not too late." Sakura said in a slightly worried tone.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan… we won't be."

* * *

Hey we're back! Orochimaru's targets from last chapter were Jiraiya and Tsunade! Hopefully Naruto and Sakura can rescue them in time! Stay tuned next week to find out!

Again, sorry for the delayed update. I just recently moved to Washington DC for a new job at the start of March, and have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off ever since. My job is finally calming down though so I'll have free time again, which means I can regularly update this story once a week!

Thanks for reading and please do review =)


	10. Guardian vs Celesti

Here we are again! I know last update I said you can expect weekly updates again because my new job was going to calm down. Sadly, that was not the case. Instead of my job calming down, I instead worked 80 hour weeks all through April! On the plus side- I got some pretty good overtime pay. On the negative side- my life for the month of April consisted of: going to work, coming home, working from home, going to bed. Rinse and repeat. =P So, with that lesson learned, I will promise that I will get updates for this story out as quickly as I can. Ideally I would like to update it once a week, but sometimes it's just not possible. On a bright note- my boss swears that this past month is not normal and I shouldn't plan on working 80 hour weeks very often, this was just a really busy month!

Now that that's out of the way... As always, I truly appreciate the favorites/follows/reviews =)

Shout Out/Thanks to everyone who reviewed since last time: Echo Uchiha, saveme57, xNINJABLADE45x, Lunar-Ice-Wolf, Tea Unicorn, RI100014, Footster26, Konoha's Crimson Fox, Darious Frost, The Moonbeam Is Watching, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, sentimentalblue, Komljenovic

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**Echo Uchiha: **=)**  
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**saveme57: **Hehe, I like to tease like that. And ya, I hate Danzo, so it was fun writing about him getting told what's up =P I hope you enjoy this chapter!**  
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**xNINJABLADE45x: **Glad you liked it =)**  
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**Lunar-Ice-Wolf:** /e salutes

**Tea Unicorn: **About that updating sooner bit... I'm trying! =P As for how they're going to save Tsunade and Jiraiya... well this is Naruto we're talking about here... =)**  
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**RI100014: **Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far =)**  
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**Footster26: **Naruto does not have the Kyubi in him. It just didn't make sense to me to put it in him since he never had anything to do with Konoha. If the story goes on long enough, Kyubi may be introduced, but that's a LONG ways away if the story even goes that far =) I don't want Tsunade to die either! **  
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**Konoha's Crimson Fox: **Thanks!**  
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**Darious Frost: **Thanks =) And I agree on the Danzo thing, I hated him so much in the manga that it's just a grand ol' time to write him getting put in his place! I didn't really go into much detail on how Jiraiya got caught. But Orochimaru had been having his forces tail Jiraiya and Tsunade for a bit, so my half-assed explanation other than "it happened" was that they waited until his guard was at its lowest and overwhelmed him with sheer numbers. As for Konohamaru, I think Naruto and Sakura set him straight! But only time shall tell I suppose =) I literally lol'd at the Inuyasha image :D**  
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**The Moonbeam is Watching: **I'm glad last chapter was worth the wait! I hope this one is too =) (I also lol'd at the moonbeam is watching...your story) =P**  
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**Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: **Hooray for hair! You'll find out about Orochimaru's plans with Tsunade just below. As for Itachi, oh ya. We're going to see a lot more of him!**  
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**sentimentalblue: **Glad you enjoy it =)**  
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**Komljenovic : **/e blushes. Thanks =) I'm glad you like the story so far!**  
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Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich without having to work 80 hr. weeks for the entire month of April and thus allowing me the time needed to update this story as often as I'd like!

Alright. Onto the 10th (woohoo!) chapter. Please do enjoy_ Guardian_ chapter 10- "Guardian vs. Celesti"

* * *

"Itachi-sama, Naruto is going after Orochimaru. Apparently he and his charge are going to rescue Jiraiya and Tsunade."

Itachi peered at the cloaked figure kneeling before him. "I see. You may leave."

The man quickly disappeared before he did something to draw his leader's wrath. Itachi stood in silence as he pondered the situation.

"So who are you going to send to stop him?" Sasuke asked from his seat in the corner of the room.

Itachi looked at Sasuke. "We can't afford to interfere right now. Naruto is already suspicious of me from sensing us when I placed his charge under a genjutsu. There's a chance he may have even learned that I betrayed the order while he was visiting the academy."

"Naruto is going to disrupt Orochimaru's research... he's probably going to kill him." Sasuke pointed out. "Isn't his research the reason you decided to leave Orochimaru be instead of killing him after he tried to capture me?"

"That is correct. His research is promising and will be very useful to us in achieving our goal. But if I move against Naruto now, I will be solidifying myself as an enemy in his eyes. I can't have that yet. He needs to think that there's hope to save me so I can exploit our bond to draw him to our side."

"So Naruto is more important than Orochimaru's research?" Sasuke asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

Itachi chuckled at his little brother. "Of course not. Both are of equal importance. One of my agents has already infiltrated Orochimaru's base and is prepared to rescue Orochimaru if it looks like Naruto is going to kill him."

"And what if Orochimaru figures out your agent's connection to you? If he discovers our interest in his research he might start making demands."

Itachi chuckled at his little brother. "He won't, he'll be too distracted by Nagato's eyes to think about any possible connections."

* * *

Naruto and Sakura stood a safe distance away from Orochimaru's hideout. It had taken them three days, and Sakura was a little worried that they might be too late.

_We need to hurry!_ Sakura started walking towards the base, but Naruto's hand caught her arm.

"Sakura… stop. You're not going in there." Naruto said softly.

The celesti turned and gave her guardian an incredulous glare. "Says who? We need to go and save Tsunade and Jiraiya now!"

Naruto simply smiled at his charge. "Don't worry Sakura, I will save them. But Orochimaru's base is no place for you, it's too dangerous. I'm going to leave two of my shadow clones out here, and you three will remain hidden."

"I'm not going to let you go in there alone you baka!" Sakura growled. "I…"

"And what would you do in there Sakura?" Naruto interrupted, smile still present on his whiskered face. "Your reflexes may be better, but remember, you are nowhere near being ready to fight. There is nothing you can do inside of Orochimaru's base. I'll be fine; you just wait out here and let me handle this."

"But I need to be there so I can heal you if you get hurt!" Sakura protested.

"I won't get hurt Sakura-chan." Naruto assured.

"Well what if someone takes out the clones that are guarding me and attacks me before you can get to me?" Sakura asked, hoping to utilize his protectiveness of her.

"As soon as one of the clones is dispelled I'll know you're in danger, and I can instantly flash to your side since you still have that three-pronged kunai." The whiskered guardian pointed out.

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Just promise me you'll come back to me? I don't want to lose you Naruto…"

Naruto wrapped Sakura into a warm hug. "You won't. I promise I'll come back to you Sakura-chan."

Her guardian's words reassured her and Sakura finally relented. Naruto broke their embrace and summoned two shadow clones.

"You guys and Sakura are to remain hidden, understand?"

"Hai!" The clones responded in unison.

Satisfied, Naruto shot Sakura one last smile. "I'll be back soon Sakura-chan." Before she could respond, he disappeared in a yellow flash.

* * *

A man with a strange looking tattoo in his neck was patrolling the near the entrance way of his master's hideout. _I only received the curse mark from Orochimaru-sama two days ago and he's already trusting me to guard the entrance to the base. His trust in me is a sign of my power, I'm going to…_

The man's thoughts were interrupted by a kunai impaling his neck through the back of his throat. Naruto caught his body and laid him gently down as he gurgled in shock during his last few seconds of life. The guardian quickly entered sage mode and scanned the base.

_There's so many people here like the two that attacked us when were with Jiraiya and Tsunade… Something is off with their chakra… _Naruto thought as he searched for the two he was here to rescue.

He smiled when he finally found Jiraiya's chakra. _Tsunade is probably close to Jiraiya…_ Naruto thought as he searched for the woman's chakra. Naruto's eyes opened in surprise. _There she is… but her chakra is different from the last time we met… What the hell happened…_

The whiskered guardian closed his eyes and focused on Jiraiya's chakra. _Orochimaru is with them… I can feel his power… This might be tougher than I thought._ Naruto disappeared in a flash.

* * *

Jiraiya watched with a disgusted expression as Orochimaru bit the neck of a teenager he kidnapped from a nearby village. The boy dropped to the ground and gripped his curse mark and cried out in pain.

"Stop screaming boy, if your body is too weak to accept the curse mark than at least have the dignity to die quietly." Orochimaru sneered as he kicked the boy in the gut. The teenager's screams eventually came to a halt as his body completely shut down.

"You're a sick bastard, killing an innocent kid like that." Jiraiya spat angrily.

"Oh you didn't enjoy the show Jiraiya?" Orochimaru taunted. The snake-like man sneered at the guardian before turning his gaze to the tank that housed his favorite new experiment. "She's coming along nicely… don't you think."

"I'm going to kill you." Jiraiya growled. "I'm going to find a way out of these bindings and I'm going to kill you."

Orochimaru's mocking laughter filled the chamber. "Wrong Jiraiya. Tsunade here is going to kill you once I'm done with her."

Before Jiraiya could reply, a yellow flash suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya gasped.

"Looks like you're in a rough spot you old pervert." Naruto greeted, his eyes locking onto Orochimaru's.

"Naruto? As in Minato and Kushina's child Naruto? My how you've grown up." Orochimaru greeted the boy as if he were an old family friend.

"I'm only going to tell you this once…" Naruto suddenly released a powerful wave of killing intent as he glared at Orochimaru. "Let Tsunade and Jiraiya go and I will make your death painless."

The snake-like man's face scrunched together in a thoughtful expression as he turned back to the tank that was holding Tsunade and placed his pale hand on it.

"Hmm… Naruto-kun wants you to come out. I guess you're ready enough." Orochimaru sent a chakra pulse through the tank causing it and the liquid to disappear in a puff of smoke. As the smoke cleared, Naruto could see Tsunade staring at him with an expressionless face as the green liquid dripped from her body.

"TSUNDADE!" Jiraiya yelled. The old guardian's charge did not respond, she just continued staring at Naruto with an expressionless face. Without taking his eyes off Tsunade, Naruto summoned a shadow clone to free Jiraiya.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER YOU BASTARD?" Jiraiya roared.

"Relax Jiraiya, I did her a favor. I've begun to unlock her hidden power." Orochimaru explained nonchalantly.

"What are you talking about…" Naruto drawled as a cold feeling seeped through his body.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Instead of waiting for her destiny to draw out her hidden power, I've begun doing it on my own. Of course… prematurely drawing out her power like this doesn't come without a price." Orochimaru had a sick grin on his face.

"What's the price…" Jiraiya softly growled. His fists were clenched tightly.

"I'm afraid that drawing out a celelsti's hidden power before their body is prepared wreaks havoc on their mind. The more hidden power that one draws out, the more their mind is destroyed. By the time I unlock her full power, she'll simply be a powerful drone for me to control." Orochimaru mocked.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Jiraiya yelled and went to charge forward, but Naruto stepped in front of him.

"You don't have any chakra Jiraiya, you don't stand a chance against him right now. Let me handle this."

"So confident Naruto-kun." Orochimaru called out. "You know why the celesti are targeted right?" The snake-like man paused and stared Naruto, waiting for him to answer.

"Because they're the ones who save the world." Naruto calmly replied.

"That is correct. And they're the ones who save the world because they are the most powerful out of us all. You think you're going to be fighting me, but you're wrong. I've only unlocked 35% of Tsunade's power, but that will be more than enough for her to deal with you."

_Shit…_ _Can he really force her into fighting me? If he's unlocked her power like he claims this could be trouble…_

"Tsunade, kill Naruto-kun." Orochimaru ordered. The busty celesti's only response was flickering directly in front of Naruto.

_She's fast!_ Naruto flashed away just as her fist was an inch away from his face. The celesti's attack connected with the ground creating a giant crater. _That strength… that's unreal. That's more powerful than my sage enhanced strength… _

Before the young guardian could ponder Tsunade's strength more, she stomped on the ground , creating a rift where he was standing. The guardian quickly flashed away before she could capitalize on his misbalance.

_I'm supposed to be rescuing her… I can't use any techniques that would seriously injure her. Damnit…_

Tsunade quickly flickered in front of Naruto and sent a kick towards his midsection, the blond guardian barely managed to dodge the kick and countered with a palm strike to her chest. To Naruto's shock Tsunade's hand shot towards his with lightning speed. She caught Naruto's strike and with her strength crushed the bones in his left hand to pieces.

The whiskered guardian couldn't hold back of his scream of pain. He tried to focus on a spot to hirashin to so he could create some distance between himself and the celesti, but a punch to the chest from Tsunade sent him careening into the wall before he could use the hirashin.

Pain plagued Naruto's entire body as he pulled himself out of the wall. He shook his head to clear the black spots from his vision and ignored the throbbing pain in his left hand. _She's unreal... _Naruto thought as his mind tried to come up with a way to stop her without seriously hurting her.

Tsunade flickered directly in front of him again, her arm was cocked back ready to deliver another devastating punch. On instinct Naruto leapt backwards and shot chakra chains out of his body, binding the amber-eyed celesti.

"So you've learned your mother's techniques as well." Orochimaru observed.

Naruto panted heavily as he restrained the celesti he had come to rescue.

"Call her off Orochimaru and I'll let you live."

"Kukuku, oh Naruto-kun… You're in no position to be making demands. You're the one who's going to be dead soon. My newest pet is well on her way to making sure of that."

"Your newest pet can't move right now." Naruto replied, he brought his hands together and managed to make the familiar cross seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke five Naruto sage shadow clones appeared.

"Take him out guys." Naruto ordered motioning towards Orochimaru. His clones nodded and started advancing towards Orochimaru when Tsunade released a burst of chakra, breaking apart Naruto's chakra chains.

"Impossible!" Naruto gasped as Tsunade flickered to each of his clones and destroyed them. _How did she break out of the chakra chains? Is this the true power of a celesti? It's supposed to be impossible for…_

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as he felt a hand grab the back of his head. He planted his feet and was about to send an elbow into the gut of the woman who was holding his head, but he was quickly lifted off the ground as Tsunade leapt into the air.

The blonde celesti twisted her body around and threw the whiskered guardian straight into the ground with her insane strength creating a large crater and a seismic tremor. The entire base rattled as the tremor shot through the surrounding area.

Jiraiya peered into the crater and gasped as he saw the bottom half Naruto's body sticking out of a hole twitching.

_This isn't good…_ The elder guardian thought as he watched his charge calmly walk towards the twitching body of the boy who came to rescue them.

* * *

A feeling of dread passed through Sakura's body as she felt a tremor pass through the ground.

"What was that?" She asked one of the clones that was protecting her.

"I'm not sure…" The clone said with an uneasy look on its face. Sakura could tell it was holding something back from her, she knew her guardian's facial expressions well enough by this point.

"Tell me…" Sakura growled threateningly.

"It's nothing to worry about Sakura-chan." The other clone interjected. "The original will be back before you know it, so stop worrying and just relax."

Sakura wasn't fooled however. _They're both in sage mode, so they can easily monitor the fight. And they both look uneasy…_

"Naruto isn't doing well is he?"

"Nani? The original is very powerful Sakura-chan, he…"

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled, interrupting the clone. "I can tell from your facial expressions that something is wrong. I'm going in there to heal him." The pinkette began marching towards the base when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm afraid we can't allow you to do that Sakura-chan." The clone called in a somber tone.

"I'm not sure if this is correct, but it makes sense to me…" Sakura started causing both of the clones to look at her in confusion. "But as soon as you get hurt, you dispel. So if I use the Eri seal against you, you will dispel and leave me defenseless as I march into Orochimaru's base."

The clones both let out a sigh.

"Damnit Sakura-chan… The original isn't in a position to be protecting you right now. There's something weird about Tsunade's chakra and she's been beating the crap out of him. It feels like he's holding back, but she's still easily beating him. There's no way to even come close to guaranteeing your safety if we go in there."

"I don't care about my safety, it's Naruto's safety that I'm concerned about." Sakura growled.

"That's the problem; you **should** be worried about your safety Sakura. Whether you like it or not, you're more important to the world than the original is. Your survival is by leaps and bounds more important than his. Please don't do this." One of the clones attempted to reason.

"I'm not losing Naruto." Sakura ground out stubbornly, now take me to him or else I'm going to do it myself!"

The clones again sighed. "You ready?" One asked the other.

"Yea."

"Ok… you distract her and I'll get the original."

"Hai."

The clones grabbed Sakura and disappeared in a flash of yellow and pink.

* * *

"Itachi… Orochimaru's experiments on Tsunade have been successful. She's currently batting around Naruto like he's some sort of bug." Nagato whispered into the radio.

"Interesting… although I'm surprised she's attacking him." Itachi's voice replied.

"It would appear that the price for unlocking a celesti's power before their body is ready for it comes at the price of their very mind. The more of her power that Orochimaru unlocks, the more Tsunade becomes a mindless drone."

"I see… That is unacceptable. Does Orochimaru plan on killing Naruto?"

"It would appear so."

"Do you think you can stand against Tsunade?"

Nagato closed his rinnegan eyes and pondered the thought. "Not for very long when she's in this state. The true power of a celesti truly does dwarf our own."

"This is not good. We still need Naruto, if he dies our plans are going to be set back. If she goes to deal a killing blow to him I want you to intervene and hold her off for as long as you can." Itachi ordered.

"And what do I do when she defeats me and returns her attention back to Naruto?" Nagato questioned.

"Hopefully by then I'll have arrived." Itachi answered. Nagato heard a click, which means Itachi turned his radio off.

The man's purple-ringed eyes turned back towards the battlefield just in time to see two of Naruto's clones flash into the room with his pink-haired charge.

* * *

Jiraiya watched in horror as Tsunade walked towards Naruto. He didn't like the kid's chances of surviving another strike, if he was still alive at all that is.

"TSUNADE STOP THIS!" Jiraiya yelled. His charge stopped and looked at him; her face remained expressionless except for her eyes. Her eyes were filled with regret. _She's still in there!_

"Fight this Tsunade! I know you can. I bel…" Jiraiya was interrupted by two of Naruto's clones flashing in front of him with Sakura in tow.

"Futon: Renkudan!" One of the clones yelled, and launched an air bullet at Tsunade. The busty celesti was caught off guard and the bullet slammed into her body. The clone that launched the bullet ran to the opposite end of the room and started shooting air bullet after air bullet at Tsunade.

The other clone flashed to Naruto, then flashed back to Sakura with Naruto in his arms. The pink-haired girl wasted no time and started healing the boy as tears gathered in her eyes. A popping noise drew Jiraiya's attention away from the girl and he looked up in time to see Tsunade standing in front of a cloud of smoke.

Naruto's other shadow clone formed the cross sign. "Taju: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" 15 more sage clones of Naruto appeared in poofs of smoke. They all charged towards Tsunade launching air and water bullets at her. But now she was prepared and easily dodged all of the clones attacks.

She slammed her fist into the ground, launching a wall of earth that took out some of the clones and quickly flickered in front of another clone, grabbed it, and tossed it into another group of clones. With only four of the newly summoned clones remaining, Tsunade quickly flickered from clone to clone destroying each one with a quick jab.

Naruto's remaining sage clone swore. "I'm sorry Jiraiya, but I don't have much of a choice." The clone formed a rasengan in its hand and flashed behind Tsunade.

"RASENGAN!" The clone roared thrusting the sphere towards Tsunade's spine. To the clone's surprise, Tsunade twisted her body, grabbed the clones arm and threw it towards Naruto and Sakura, rasengan still intact. The clone swore and dispelled itself before it hit the original and the original's charge with a powerful attack.

"Damnit…" Jiraiya muttered under his breath. His chakra levels were still low from the chakra draining rope that had been binding him not so long ago. _This is bad…_

* * *

Naruto was surprised when his entire body was not wracked with pain when he woke up. The last thing he remembered was Tsunade throwing him straight into the ground. He opened his eyes and gasped when he saw tear-filled emerald eyes staring into his.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto you baka…" Sakura mumbled as she tried to hold back tears. He quickly covered his hand in fire chakra and caught Tsunade's fist as the elder celesti attempted to take out Sakura. He felt the bones in right hand shatter at the impact, but Tsunade quickly freed her hand from his and leapt backwards.

The fist that he had caught was a bloody mess; his flame covered hand had managed to quickly burn the skin off of her fist. He would've felt satisfied that he was able to slow down such a powerful opponent if that powerful opponent wasn't a celesti he was supposed to be saving. He felt Sakura grab his hand and sighed in relief as her soothing chakra again mended his broken hand.

To his displeasure, Tsunade mimicked Sakura and healed her damaged hand as well.

_Now that Sakura is here I can't afford to hold back… I'm sorry Jiraiya, but the only way I stand a chance at stopping her is if I use my most powerful techniques…_

Naruto re-entered sage mode and stood protectively in front of Sakura. A slight buzzing noise emanated from his fists as he surrounded them with wind chakra. Tsunade wouldn't be nearly as dangerous without arms after all…

Naruto tensed his leg muscles, preparing to charge. Before he could attack, Jiraiya suddenly leapt in between Naruto and his blonde-haired charge.

"Tsunade you can fight this." The white-haired guardian pleaded. He could see that Naruto was getting serious now that the boy's own charge was in danger. He wasn't sure if Naruto could actually kill Tsunade or not, but the rasenshuriken looked extremely powerful when Naruto showed it to him earlier. And now the boy's fists were covered in wind chakra; he was planning on slicing her to pieces.

Tsunade flickered in front of Jiraiya and flicked him on the forehead just strong enough to knock him off his feet and out of her way.

_I'm getting through to her. She held back right there! _Jiraiya thought excitedly as he picked himself up. Before his charge could go after the young guardian who was currently planning on slicing her apart, Jiraiya again leapt between the two. Tsunade may have held back on her flick, but blood was still trickling down Jiraiya's forehead.

"I know you're in there Tsunade. You hesitated earlier when I called, and you just held back there. Fight this, you aren't a mindless drone!"

Tsunade again flickered in front of him, and this time caught him in the gut with a powerful punch. He doubled over, and prepared himself for Tsunade's follow-up attack but it never came. He opened his eyes to see Tsunade calmly walking away from him and towards Naruto.

Coughing up a little blood, Jiraiya forced himself to his feet and ran in between Tsunade and Naruto. "You can... beat this Tsunade!" He rasped. Tsunade's responded by punching him hard in the sternum, he bit back a cry of pain when he felt his sternum break. The white-haired guardian dropped to his knees and began coughing up more blood, while Tsunade again walked straight past him and towards Naruto.

Jiraiya calmed his breathing, pushed what little chakra he had left into his legs and flipped into the air to land directly in front of his charge.

"Please…" Jiraiya wheezed. That last punch had really taken its toll on him. "Fight this. You are a beautiful, strong-willed and extremely stubborn woman. You…can beat this." Tsunade slowly pulled her fist back, preparing to strike Jiraiya again, but the white-haired guardian used the last of his strength to wrap her in a bear hug.

Her eyes widened in surprise as Jiraiya clinged to her desperately. She could feel his body spasming as he coughed more blood out over her shoulder.

"Jiraiya…" She mumbled.

"Hmm? What are you doing Tsunade? I ordered you to kill Naruto, not talk to your guardian." Orochimaru sneered.

"Tsu-na…" Jiraiya slumped against his charge's frame as he passed out.

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade whispered in a worried tone. "Jiraiya?" She yelled in a panic this time.

The white-haired guardian didn't respond. A wave of dread washed through her body as her guardian's breathing slowed against her. _No… I couldn't have…_

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?" Tsunade roared as she glared over Jiraiya's slumped shoulder at Orochimaru.

"Now now Tsunade, stop being so angry. I'm helping you, I've begun to unlock your true power. Now… I believe I ordered you to kill Naruto-kun." The snake-like man answered in a sickingly sweet tone.

Tsunade clutched her head as Orochimaru's words rang through her mind like a bell choir. _No… I have to fight this… I need to save Jiraiya…_

Naruto flashed directly behind Orochimaru and severed his head with his wind-chakra covered hand. He bit back a gasp when the man's body turned into mud and fell to the ground.

"A mud clone? Where the hell is the real one?"

A startled gasp caught Naruto's attention and he whirled around to see Orochimaru with a sword held at Sakura's neck.

"Leave her alone." Naruto growled dangerously.

"So this is your charge Naruto-kun? She's pretty, and she has a lot of power locked away within her. She will make a great pet."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Naruto roared in anger. The tears streaming down his charge's face only served to enrage him further. All he wanted to do right now was tear Orochimaru apart limb from limb.

Orochimaru's sickening laughter filled the room. "My my Naruto-kun, you have such a temper… I'll make you a deal, you become my pet and I'll let her go."

Sakura slowly reached into her pocket and grabbed the three-pronged kunai Naruto had given her. Orochimaru was focused entirely on Naruto; apparently he wasn't worried about her trying anything. He failed to realize that Sakura wasn't a typical celesti, he failed to realize how strongly Sakura cared for her guardian, and he failed to realize that the second he threatened Naruto, Sakura would fight back. She didn't care if he slit her throat; she was not going to let him do anything to her guardian.

"How do I know you'll keep your word…" Naruto asked as he relaxed his stance.

"You don't, but you don't really… ARGH!" The pale man was interrupted by Sakura stabbing the three-pronged kunai into the arm was holding onto the sword. Naruto instantly flashed to her and kicked Orochimaru straight in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

Tsunade flickered directly into his flight path and smashed him into the ground with a powerful punch. She pulled her fist back, preparing to deal the killing blow to the sick bastard that caused her to possibly kill her guardian. Before she could deliver the blow, a man with white hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a pair of round glasses appeared behind her.

"Now we can't have our pets killing the master." Kabuto sneered as he slammed a needle into Tsunade's neck.

"TSUNADE!" Sakura yelled.

The blonde-haired celesti fell backwards, completely unconscious. Before Kabuto could catch her Naruto had flashed in front of him and swiped at him with a wind-chakra covered hand, forcing him to leap backwards.

_I need to finish this quickly. I used up a lot of chakra fighting Tsunade, and my clones used up a lot more. I'm only going to be able to maintain sage mode for 3 more minutes…_

Naruto covered one hand in wind chakra, and the other in fire chakra. "Senpo: Kaze-en no Dangan"

The wind flame bullet crashed through a piece of rubble that Kabuto substitued himself with, but Naruto didn't care. The whiskered guardian changed his focus to Orochimaru who was starting to get up from Tsunade's attack. Naruto charged at him, fully intending to truly behead Orochimaru this time. _This one has got to be the real one, or else he would've dispelled when Tsunade punched him. _

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he saw Naruto's wind-covered hand near his neck. For perhaps the first time in his life the pale man felt fear. Just as Naruto's hand was an inch away from the snake-like man's neck, the boy was sent rocketing towards the wall.

Orochimaru looked on in confusion, wondering what attack just hit Naruto. His eyes widened when he saw a thin man with mid-length red hair standing in the room. The man's eyes were purple with rings in them.

"Is that… the rinnegan?" Orochimaru gasped. Before he could ponder those eyes any further, Naruto suddenly flashed in front of the man with a giant rasengan in hand.

"Senpo: Odama Rasengan!" The whiskered boy thrust the giant sphere forward at the red-haired man, but the man simply threw his hand up and nullified the powerful attack.

"What the…" Naruto stuttered before the man used the same attack as before to send the young guardian hurtling backwards and skidding across the ground.

"Who the hell are you?" The young guardian growled as he stood up. He stood perfectly still and desperately drew in nature chakra. _This guy is strong… I need more time in sage mode if I'm going to stand a chance at saving everyone._

"My name doesn't matter Naruto. Give up and I shall let you and your charge live."

"You know my name, and I don't know yours. Doesn't seem fair does it?" Naruto asked, trying to stall for more time.

Unfortunately for Naruto, Itachi had already told him of Naruto's abilities, and the purple-eyed man easily figured out what Naruto was trying to do.

"I'm not going to let you stall for time to extend the duration of your sage mode Naruto." The man said as he slid a black pike from his sleeve. He extended his arm and was about to pull Naruto to him when he sensed Sakura sneaking up behind him.

Just as she swiped at him with the three-pronged kunai she had retrieved, the man sent her flying. Before she could get far Naruto flashed out of sight and reappeared with her in his arms.

"Sakura-chan… please stay out of this. Let me handle these guys." Naruto whispered quietly to his charge while he shot the red-haired man a death glare.

"You're exhausted Naruto, you can't beat these guys alone. I can help…" Sakura started.

"No Sakura, you can't. I'm sorry, but these guys are all far beyond your level. But don't worry, I'll beat them."

_Even with the extra nature chakra I just gathered in I only have 1 minute left in sage mode. Once I drop out of sage mode I won't stand a chance against this guy. Now how can I beat him… He has some sort of jutsu that can push me backwards, and he somehow nullified my oodama rasengan…_

Naruto's hands again buzzed as he surrounded them with wind chakra.

Before the guardian could act, the red-haired man extended his arm and Naruto was suddenly being pulled towards him. He placed his black pike in front of him. The young guardian remained calm as he was pulled towards his death, and at the last second substituted himself with Orochimaru.

The pale man gasped in pain as he was suddenly impaled on a pike, and the red-haired man looked up in surprise. He barely dodged Naruto's wind covered hand in time and leapt backwards putting distance between himself and the whiskered guardian. Naruto's eyes flickered back to their normal sapphire blue as he dropped out of sage mode.

_Damnit… _Naruto swore in his mind to no one in particular. He looked down at his hands which were buzzing with chakra. Both hands looked as if they had been cut by a thousand tiny knives. _Looks like my hands can't handle being surrounded by wind chakra for much longer either. Just great…_

"It looks like you're finished Naruto-kun." The red-haired man called out once he noticed Naruto's eyes.

_What should I do… I can summon Gamabunta, but I'm not sure what he would be able to do against this guy… He can nullify any powerful attack I try…_

"Give up Naruto, it's over."

_Well… if you can't win, create a diversion and run like hell I suppose._ Naruto formed the familiar cross seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three Naruto clones popped to life. Two went and scooped up Jiraiya and Tsunade, while Naruto scooped up Sakura, and the last clone ran towards the red-haired man.

"You're going to send a single clone at me Naruto? I thought you were better than that." The man called in a monotone voice.

"Don't underestimate me you bastard!" The charging clone yelled. "Katon: Kage Bunshin Bakuhatsu!"

The clone exploded in a large burst of flame. Naruto and his remaining clones used the temporary distraction to run as fast as they could. They made it out of the base and continued running as fast their legs would carry them.

* * *

The explosion died down revealing a perfectly fine Nagato.

"Who are you?" Kabuto asked as he gawked at the powerful man.

"Instead of worrying about who I am, shouldn't you be healing your master." Nagato calmly asked.

The white-haired man's eyes widened and he quickly ran to his master's side. Kabuto put his neck over Orochimaru's mouth.

"Orochimaru-sama, please bite into me so you can heal yourself." Orochimaru didn't need to be told twice and bit into Kabuto's neck and slowly but surely his wounds were healed.

Once his master was healed, Kabuto looked up, intent on figuring out who the mysterious red-haired man that came to their rescue was. But he was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Itachi-sama… the mission was a success. Both Naruto and Orochimaru are alive, and we know where Orochimaru's research is at." Nagato said into the radio as he stepped over one of the many bodies of Orochimaru's guards that his summons slaughtered so Naruto could escape. The rinnegan wielder stepped out of Orochimaru's base and calmly began walking towards Itachi's base.

* * *

A completely exhausted Naruto sat in a cave about three hours away from Orochimaru's hideout. He and his clones used the last bit of his chakra to run for three straight hours, and now he and Sakura were sitting in a cave with an unconscious Jiraiya and Tsunade.

He was thankful that Sakura was alright. He admired her courage when she tried to attack that strange red-haired man, but she could've easily gotten hurt. He was stirred out of his thoughts by Tsunade's voice.

"Jiraiya! Jiraiya get up!" She urged in a panicked tone. She put her hands over the white-haired guardians body, but nothing happened.

"What the hell… I can't use my chakra!" Tsunade growled. "Sakura, get over here and heal Jiraiya!"

"Tsunade... I only know how... I can currently only use my chakra to heal Naruto… I haven't even been able to heal myself yet." Sakura replied with a sad frown.

"I don't care, get over here and try!" The blonde celesti ordered stubbornly.

Sakura complied and walked over and placed her hands directly over Jiraiya's chest. His breathing was very shallow, but at least he was breathing.

She began to pump chakra into the white-haired guardian, but as she feared, nothing was happening. A tear leaked out of Tsunade's eye as she realized Sakura wasn't going to be able to heal Jiraiya.

"Naruto…" Tsunade nearly whispered. "I know this is a lot to ask right now… but I need a favor. I need you to escort us to a hospital as quickly as possible. Jiraiya isn't going to last much longer."

Naruto nodded his head and summoned two shadow clones, the clones picked up Jiraiya and Tsunade, and Sakura climbed onto Naruto's back. The blonde guardian's legs felt like jelly, and his rest wasn't nearly long enough to restore much chakra. But Jiraiya's life was in danger.

_I've gotta do this…_ The guardian thought. He took off at a dead spring towards the nearest town.

* * *

New Jutsu list: Katon: Kage Bunshin Bakuhatsu!- Fire Release- Shadow Clone Explosion

All other jutsus used in this chapter have been used in previous chapters with jutsu lists (3-5) and I'm feeling particularly lazy atm =P

Now for some explanations:

Remember that in this world, while the guardians protect the celesti, it's ultimately the celesti who save the world because of their hidden powers. Typically, to save the world one must be pretty powerful. If the celesti weren't that powerful, then there would be no reason that guardians couldn't just save the world. Thus why Tsunade so easily pwned Naruto with only 35% of her hidden power being unlocked.

As for Jiraiya getting pwned: Remember he just spent the past 4 days in captivity AND he had next to no chakra. Add that with Tsunade's ridiculously powerful punches and you got a near-death Jiraiya on your hands.

As for Kabuto's healing: in this story I made the common healing we see done in the Naruto series a celesti ability, and since you can't use a celesti ability without celesti chakra I couldn't give that ability to Kabuto. So instead I had him take a page out of Karin's book and he can heal Orochimaru through Orochimaru bite him. Of course, this makes them even more creepy, but what're ya gonna do.

Also- I hope I wasn't too vague with "mind being destroyed." I meant like wiping memories/personality etc.

Now this is the part where I would normally say, "tune in next week." But I've learned since my last update that I'm not very good at predicting when my new job will let me have free time. So instead I'll say, "Tune in next time. I'll get it up as quickly as I can"

Please do review =)


	11. Worry

Woohoo! _Guardian_ is now officially my longest story!

My thanks to everyone who left a review, or favorited/followed this story. I do appreciate it =)

Shout to everyone who reviewed since last time: aej1085, Tea unicorn, saveme57, Echo Uchiha, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, Cassange, Footster26, melapoy, Darious Frost, Kiari Ferrari, Foresaken Forgotten, Eddy LP, Nutt Man 117, RI100014

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**aej1085: **Glad you like it =) Sorry I couldn't get this update out quicker!**  
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**Tea Unicorn: **=) That makes two of us! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**  
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**saveme57: **/e glances down. Hmm... Glad you enjoyed the chapter and hope you enjoy this one as well =)**  
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**Echo Uchiha: **Don't we all!**  
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**Godess of Night Eternal Faith: **Hahaha. Well once again I'm finding myself hoping you still have hair! As for your questions... /e whistles innocently and looks away. I dunno! =P**  
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**Cassange: **Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy it =) **  
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**Footster26: **Thanks! Kakashi is going to show up, but much later in the story. He's off busy doing other things right now... Like reading his porn and looking hip and all that jazz =P **  
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**melapoy: **Hehe, glad my in-story explanations are working! Please don't hesitate to ask if there's ever anything that needs to be clarified! **  
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**Darious Frost: **Sadly Orochimaru has more relevance to this story, so I couldn't kill him so early =/ And lol, ya... probably wouldn't be a good thing to lose the job =P As for Itachi showing up... /e glances down below**  
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**Kaiari Ferrari: **Mwhahahahahahahaha! Welcome to the NaruSaku side of the universe! Join ussssssss in knuckleheaded goodness! On a more serious note... Wow. Thanks for the compliment, I'm touched that you think that highly of my story! **  
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**Foresaken Forgotten: **Lol =P My first instinct when something is hemorrhaging is to find a way to stop it, but if it's hemorrhaging awesomeness I'm not so sure I really want to! Glad you're enjoying the story so far =)**  
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**Eddy LP: **Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Have a nice day yourself!**  
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**Nutt Man 117: **Glad you're enjoying it =) And I really like Sakura's character in this story too (as I tend to in most of my stories now that I think about it...)**  
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**RI100014: **Ah no worries! I'm just glad you're enjoying the story so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well =)**  
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Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and I would personally fund research for flying cars because good lord do I hate Washington D.C. traffic! Come on scientists... we were supposed to have flying cars by now. Free me from the hour it takes me to drive 20 miles!

Let's get onto the main event shall we? Please do enjoy, _Guardian_-Chapter 11: "Worry"

* * *

Itachi trailed Naruto at a distance of about 50 feet. Normally, he would be worried about Naruto sensing his presence, but right now he wasn't. The look of exhaustion set on Naruto and his clones' faces told Itachi all he needed to know. The man he thought of as a little brother was currently pushing himself past his limit. His mind was only focused on accomplishing his current task, which seemed to be to get his party to the hospital to heal the older guardian, Jiraiya.

Itachi had almost arrived at Orochimaru's base when Nagato told him both Naruto and Orochimaru were alive. He got the direction that Naruto was headed from Nagato and headed off towards the boy. If Naruto really had to face off against a celesti whose powers were even partially unlocked he was probably exhausted. Itachi decided to tail him to protect him from any possible attackers while he was recuperating from his fight.

A slight chakra flare brought Itachi out of his musings and it made him glad he had decided to tail Naruto. From the look on the boy's face, he hadn't noticed it. Itachi changed course to intercept whoever was preparing to attack his little brother.

* * *

Naruto wasn't exactly sure how he and his clones were still running, but they somehow were. His legs were so wobbly it was truly a miracle that he was even managing to stay upright, much less continue sprinting towards the nearby village.

He had been sprinting for a good hour and hoped he would arrive at the village within the next hour. He thought about how great it would feel to plop down on a bed and sleep... to give his body a chance to recuperate from his fight with Tsunade. But he quickly shook his head.

_No… I'm currently traveling with two celesti, and Jiraiya is out. Two celesti will probably draw more attention than just one. And with Jiraiya out, that means I have to protect both Sakura and Tsunade. I won't be able to afford to rest. Not with the danger of the attention that two celesti will draw…_

Thinking about what he had to do once he arrived at the village took the whiskered guardian's thoughts from focusing on getting Sakura, Jiraiya and Tsunade to the nearby village. He nearly stumbled as black dots slowly started dancing across his vision.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice was filled with concern.

_I can't think about that now. I just need to focus on keeping my body moving. I need to remain focused on getting everyone to the hospital so we can save Jiraiya's life._

"I'm fine Sakura-chan, don't worry." Naruto said, trying to hide the exhaustion from his voice.

"Are you sure?"

"We'll be there soon Sakura-chan." Naruto replied, ignoring his charge's question.

* * *

A man with long black hair, and a large clawed gauntlet on his left arm, sporting an air mask on his face watched an exhausted guardian run by and couldn't believe his luck. The boy was carrying not one, but two celestis, and it looked like the other celesti's guardian was unconscious. All he and his brother would have to do is defeat one guardian who looked like he was about to fall over.

_These two celesti will be easy to capture, and with the bounty Orochimaru has for live celesti, Gozu and I will be able to live like kings._

The man flared his chakra slightly to alert his brother and began stalking towards the exhausted guardian and the two celesti.

* * *

Gozu was scavenging in the forest for supplies when he felt his brother's small chakra flare.

_Hmmm, it looks like Meizu found something._ Abandoning the mushrooms he had gathered so far, the black-haired man ran towards his brother's chakra signal.

* * *

_Keep moving your legs... Just keep moving your legs... _Naruto repeated the thought over and over as his body began to strongly protest the strain he was currently putting on it. His body was trying to shut itself down so it could naturally recuperate, but Naruto couldn't allow that to happen. His charge, and his friend and his friend's charge were not safe. He couldn't allow himself to stop yet.

The young guardian had a strange feeling that he was being watched, but he couldn't allow himself to think about it. He had to remain focused solely on continuing running or else his body would shut down on him.

_Keep moving your legs… Just keep moving your legs…_

* * *

Itachi watched the two black-haired men wearing air masks and horned forehead protectors. _The demon brothers…_

When Itachi had first formed Akatsuki, he debated on recruiting the demon brothers. They were known for their excellent teamwork, and had a reputation of being dangerous. But after observing the two, Itachi found that they were far too weak to be a member of the Akatsuki. Their reputations, in his opinion, were highly overrated.

He saw the one with the clawed arm, Meizu if he remembered correctly, start to make a move, and Itachi quickly flickered in front of the man, mangekyo sharingans activated.

"Who the hell…" Meizu started. But before he could even finish Itachi had jammed a kunai through his throat.

"MEIZU!" Gozu yelled in rage and anguish as he watched his brother drop to the ground with a kunai through his throat, gurgling in surprise as life quickly faded from his body.

"YOU BASTARD, I'M GOING TO…"

"Katon…" Itachi interrupted Gozu's yelling as he formed some hand signs and faced the only living demon brother. "Gokakyu no Jutsu." The giant fireball left Itachi's mouth and incinerated Gozu.

"I really don't understand how you two were ever considered to be dangerous…" Itachi mused as the fireball burned out to reveal the charred corpse of Gozu. With the two threats to Naruto dead, Itachi took off in the direction Naruto had continued running to continue protecting the young guardian.

* * *

_Keep moving your legs… Just keep moving your legs…_ Naruto had continued to repeat that in his head and could finally see the walls of the village. He could feel his body shaking in anticipation in the upcoming rest it was sure to get once Naruto got everyone to safety. Naruto could only wonder what stunts it would try to pull on him once his body figured out he had no intentions of resting.

"Is that it?" Sakura asked in a relieved tone.

"Ya…" Naruto panted. He could no longer even come close to hiding his exhaustion. "That's it. Tsunade, wake up, we're here!"

The older celesti woke with a snort, and confused eyes took in her surroundings. She wasn't entirely sure when she fell asleep, but she just felt so exhausted after Kabuto injected her with whatever it was that was in his syringe. She looked over at the young guardian who had sprinted nonstop to get her here with her guardian, who she almost killed… and gasped. The boy looked haggard; she couldn't believe he was still moving.

She knew as a guardian there was no way he would rest when he's watching over two celesti, so she tried to channel her chakra again. Unfortunately for her, that overwhelming power was still out of her reach. She couldn't access her chakra.

"Tsunade, do you know where the hospital is?" Naruto asked, breaking Tsunade out of her thoughts.

"Can't you just find it in sage mode?" Sakura asked with a confused look on her face.

"I uh…" _I don't have the strength to enter sage mode right now._ But Naruto couldn't say that. He didn't want to worry Sakura. _What should I say then?_

"There's no need." Tsunade said as she got off Naruto's clone's back. "Follow me."

Naruto and his clones followed Tsunade, and the group hastily walked to the hospital. As soon as they entered the doors Tsunade ran up to the receptionist desk.

"That man over there is in critical condition, he needs emergency treatment now!"

"Ok, what happened to him?" The receptionist asked as she pressed a button to call the emergency doctors.

"He's a guardian, and his sternum was broken." Tsunade muttered. She couldn't bring herself to say that she was the one who hurt him. It ate away at her very soul. Sure she liked to say that she could care less about what happens to Jiraiya because he was eventually going to die protecting her, but after meeting Sakura and Naruto, Tsunade had found herself optimistically thinking that just maybe Jiraiya wouldn't have to sacrifice himself for her.

She didn't know what she would do with herself if she was the one who killed the old pervert. She had never told him, but Jiraiya was very important to her. Even if she didn't show it, his company, his jokes, his warmth… hell even his pervertedness had made her life worth living these past six years. He had given her life more meaning than just maybe one day saving the world.

The doctors arrived with a gurney and Naruto's clone placed Jiraiya onto it. Without another word the doctors ran back into the hospital with Jiraiya. Tsunade attempted to follow, but was stopped by one of the hospital's orderlies.

"I'm sorry, but hospital staff only beyond this point." The orderly said in a somber voice.

"But I need to be back there with him. I know a thing or two about medicine myself, I might be needed." Tsunade replied in as even a tone as she could muster.

"I'm sorry mam, but you're just going to have to wait here. Someone will be out to let you know of his condition as soon as possible." The orderly didn't give Tsunade another chance to respond, and quickly turned around and walked through the doors, leaving Tsunade under the watchful eye of the receptionist.

"Come on Tsunade, let's sit down and wait." Sakura said as she gently led the older celesti to one of the waiting room chairs. Tsunade simply nodded in response. Once Sakura had gotten Tsunade seated, she glanced at Naruto.

He looked beyond exhausted; his fight with Tsunade had taken a lot of him. She was actually surprised the fight had taken so much out of him. Tsunade beat him up pretty good, but no worse than his fight against Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu. If anything, he was in better shape now than he was in that fight. Also his fight with Tsunade was much shorter, there's no way he could've used up more chakra. There had to be something she was missing.

"Naruto? You should get some rest. You look exhausted." Sakura suggested. She would've straight up told him to rest, but she didn't want to hurt him by using the eri seal.

"I don't need to rest Sakura; I need to be alert to protect you and Tsunade." Naruto stubbornly replied.

Sakura was about to retort, but there wasn't really a good spot for Naruto to rest in the waiting room, and the hospital was a public place. _As soon as we get out of the hospital I'm going to get us a room in an inn and make Naruto rest…even if I have to use the eri seal this time. It's not good for him to push himself like this…_

"Fine, but you're going to need to rest sooner than later Naruto." Her guardian simply nodded in his head in response.

* * *

Itachi stood outside the village that Naruto had entered. He was proud of his little brother for making it all the way here, even though he was clearly past his body's limit. The Uchiha guardian briefly pondered entering the village, but decided against it.

Now that Naruto had completed his task, Itachi couldn't risk getting too close in risk of being discovered by the whiskered guardian. So Itachi instead sat just outside the city walls, keeping alert for any sort of threat to Naruto.

* * *

_Stay awake…Stay awake… _Naruto thought to himself. He had been repeating those two words to himself for the past three hours while he sat in the waiting room of the hospital with Sakura and Tsunade. His head snapped up when the sound of doors opening filled the room and his eyes fell upon a worn-out looking doctor.

Tsunade was instantly in front of the doctor with her mouth open, ready to ask a slew of questions; but the doctor beat her to the punch.

"He's stabilized, but still in critical condition... but I think he will make a full recovery in time. As you already knew, his sternum was broken. The broken bone pierced his lungs, and even scratched his heart. Had the bone gone in even an inch deeper, his heart would've been pierced and there wouldn't have been much we could do… so we're lucky in that aspect. But the real problem is his lungs. The bone pierced clean through them, and he now has a hole in his lungs making it extremely difficult to breathe."

Tsunade gasped and looked down at her hands. The very hands that caused all of this. Her hands indirectly pierced Jiraiya's lungs, and nearly pierced his heart.

"Our surgery successfully reset his sternum, so his heart is no longer in danger. But the hole in his lung has caused his right lung to collapse. We've inserted a chest tube to help with his breathing, and it will need to remain in for a few days while his body repairs the hole. He will still have difficulty breathing, and breathing will even cause him pain for a while due to his sternum being broken. He won't be able to partake in any heavy physical activity for two to three months at the least."

Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. He was going to live. But still… he wasn't going to be able to do anything for a couple of months. She could apply for a new guardian, but she didn't want to. She pushed the feelings of guilt aside and tried to focus on coming up with a solution that would allow Jiraiya to get the proper rest he needed to fully recuperate. Better yet, a solution that would allow her to heal Jiraiya right away so he didn't have to suffer through these next few months. She needed to regain access to her chakra.

"Thank you doctor. When can we visit him?" Tsunade calmly asked, surprising both Naruto and Sakura.

"Right now if you would like. Although, he's still unconscious. We put him into a coma so his body could focus solely on healing itself."

"Thank you, if you could just give me a moment, we'll be right there." The doctor nodded his head.

"Just talk to the receptionist when you're ready."

Tsunade smiled at the doctor and thanked him, before turning and making eye contact with Naruto.

"I need you to enter sage mode and look at my chakra flow."

"I…" _Can't. My body is too exhausted to maintain the focus I need in order to enter sage mode…_ Naruto thought dejectedly. He couldn't say his thoughts out loud. He was determined to keep Sakura from worrying about him any more than she currently was. "I will later. For now, we should go visit Jiraiya. They say that a person can hear you even while they're in a coma after all."

Tsunade considered his statement and nodded in agreement. The boy had delayed when Sakura asked him about sage mode when they first arrived in the village. She figured he wouldn't suggest they do it later without a good reason; and after everything he had done for her and Jiraiya, she hardly had room to doubt him.

After getting Jiraiya's room number from the receptionist, Tsunade, Sakura, and Naruto walked into Jiraiya's room. There was a tube entering his body just under his armpit, and his eyes were closed. Even with the chest tube, his breathing seemed labored. _The doctor said he's going to be ok…_ Tsunade reminded herself.

She pulled a chair to Jiraiya's bedside and sat down, staring at him with pained eyes. Sakura saw Tsunade's eyes and figured the woman wouldn't mind being alone with her guardian.

"Hey Naruto? Why don't we go get a room in the inn? I'm sure Tsunade would like to be alone with Jiraiya for a while." Tsunade flashed Sakura a grateful smile upon hearing her suggestion.

"I can't do that. I'm now protecting Tsunade as well. I can't just go and leave her alone."

"Just give her a three-pronged kunai and summon a shadow clone to keep an eye on her from a distance. If there's any sort of threat your clone can dispel and you can instantly flash to her."

Naruto pondered Sakura's suggestion, and finally nodded. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A Naruto clone instantly popped into existence, and it looked just as exhausted as Naruto. Naruto handed Tsunade a three-pronged kunai and turned to his clone.

"Dispel the second you sense any danger, got it?"

The clone yawned. "Got it boss."

"Good. I guess we'll see you later than Tsunade." Naruto and Sakura walked to the door, before being stopped by Tsunade's soft voice.

"Naruto… thank you."

The exhausted guardian grinned back at the busty celesti. "Don't mention it." The duo left the room and Sakura instantly started dragging Naruto to the inn. He was too exhausted to resist, and let himself get pulled along.

* * *

Tsunade didn't even watch as Sakura and Naruto left. She was too busy distracting herself with figuring out how to gain access to her chakra so that her guilt wouldn't plague her mind. But once the young guardian and his charge were gone, her mind drifted back to the damage she had done to the man who had been protecting her for the past six years.

_He wouldn't want me to feel guilty, and it certainly won't help him if I'm just sitting here feeling guilty… I need to distract myself…_ Tsunade decided to reflect back on the first time she had met Jiraiya. She would never tell him, but it was one of her fonder memories.

_FLASHBACK_

_Tsunade was sitting in a bath. Another guardian had just died to protect her, and her new guardian should be arriving within the next day. The busty celesti sighed and sank further into the warm water, so that it would ease all of her stress away._

_Then…_

_FLASH IN_

_Then what happened?_ Tsunade wondered suddenly. This only happened six years ago, and it was a memory that she would often secretly revisit whenever she needed to cheer herself up.

_FLASHBACK_

_Tsunade heard…a perverted giggle? She…_

_FLASH IN_

"What the hell…" Tsunade gasped. _I can't remember anything else… _The blonde celesti felt tears threatening to gather in her eyes and blinked them back. _This is one of my favorite memories… I have to be able to remember this…_

_FLASHBACK_

_A man was suddenly in her bathroom staring at her with a lecherous look. He had… _

_FLASH IN_

"Argh, how did he look? What was he wearing?" Tsunade growled. _I can't let myself lose this memory…_

_FLASHBACK_

_The man was suddenly sent flying out of the room, courtesy of someone's fist. The owner of the fist was fuming in rage. The owner was…_

_FLASH IN_

"Damnit who was the owner? What happened in between my memory of the man appearing in my bathroom and the man getting punched out of it…" Tsunade had never felt more frustrated in her life as she struggled to recall the details of that memory that she secretly cherished.

But she couldn't pull up any more details. The rest of that memory was a white fog to her.

"What the hell happened to me…" Tsunade muttered in frustration.

* * *

A very frustrated Sakura stood in her and Naruto's inn room, with her arms crossed, and an angry expression on her face. Across from her stood Naruto, who had a stubborn, yet exhausted look on his.

"Sakura, I can't afford to rest right now. There are two celesti in this village and I'm supposed to be protecting both of them. With both you and Tsunade in town someone is bound to come after one of you, or both of you. I need to be awake and ready."

"You can barely stand baka! At the end of the day, you're just another human, and you need to get your rest just like everyone else. You seem to be especially drained after your fight with Tsunade, more than I would expect. You could be getting sick or something. You really need to get some rest."

"I'm fine Sakura. My body has been trained to operate on very small amounts of rest, and I don't need to be unconscious for it to heal. Besides, you healed me, so I'm fine. Just drop it Sakura and go to sleep."

"You're right, I healed you. And yet you're still this exhausted! It's because even you need rest. Please don't make me do something I don't want to?" Sakura was careful to say her last sentence as a question to avoid activating the eri seal.

"What do you mean… make you do something you don't want to?" Naruto asked in a suspicious tone.

"I mean…well you need to take care of yourself, and if you refuse to do that… well then I'll make you do it."

"Are you…threatening to activate my eri seal to force me to rest?" Naruto asked in an incredulous tone with a look of slight betrayal on his face.

"Yes, yes I am." Sakura answered with a confident look. She started straight into his eyes which showed the pain of betrayal. "But I'm not doing it because I want to control you, I'm willing to do it because I care about you, and you really need to rest. So please Naruto… please don't make me activate it?"

Naruto sighed. He knew his charge was stubborn, and he couldn't really bring himself to stay mad at her for threatening to activate his eri seal. Because she wasn't doing it to control him, she was doing it out of concern for him.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A clone poofed into existence. The clone and the original made eye contact and nodded to one another. Naruto then went and lay down on the bed to Sakura's complete surprise. She really thought she was going to have to use the eri seal to force him to rest.

She walked over to the bed and lay down next to her guardian, then wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you Naruto."

Naruto's exhausted eyes looked down at her, filled with curiosity. "For what?"

"For saving me from having to use that stupid seal. Thank you." Sakura answered softly. Her emerald eyes were filled with gratitude.

"Hehe, thanks for caring so much Sakura-chan." Naruto tried to keep eye contact with his beautiful charge, but now that he was in a comfortable bed with the girl that he cared so much for wrapped around him, he was finding it impossible to stay awake. The whiskered guardian's eyes drooped a couple of times before staying closed as his body finally won the battle and shut down.

Seeing that he had fallen asleep, Sakura kissed his nose before nuzzling into him and allowing sleep to take her into its sweet embrace as well.

* * *

"Danzo-sama, I have news regarding Naruto's rescue mission." A masked man said as he knelt in front of Danzo.

"Report." Danzo ordered.

"It would appear that Orochimaru has been researching ways to forcefully unlock a celesti's hidden power. He was on his way to unlocking Tsunade's when Naruto arrived."

"Oh? Do we know how he managed to do that?"

"Unfortunately not Danzo-sama. All we know is that the process Orochimaru used to unlock Tsunade's powers began to destroy her mind. Had he succeeded in fully unlocking her powers she would have become a mindless drone."

Danzo's eyes lit up with curiosity. _Interesting… Not only does Orochimaru's process unlock a celesti's hidden power, but it turns that celesti into a mindless drone in the process. That's perfect. I could have an army of celesti at my command. This world would no longer have to worry about destiny protecting it, instead I could protect the people of this world by controlling the most powerful beings that walk it._

"And what was the outcome of the Naruto's mission?"

"Orochimaru had unlocked 35% of Tsunade's power by the time Naruto had arrived and he set her loose against Naruto. She was able to defeat Naruto, and most likely would've killed him had it not been for the intervention of Jiraiya. Jiraiya managed to return Tsunade to normal, and Naruto and Tsunade would've killed Orochimaru had it not been for the interference of a man who we believe to be one of Itachi's agents."

"So… Itachi is interested in Orochimaru's research as well…"

"It would appear that way Danzo-sama. Itachi's agent forced Naruto to flee, and as of our agent's last check-in, Naruto was headed towards a nearby village to get medical attention for Jiraiya. While Orochimaru was headed towards another one of his bases with Kabuto."

"So Orochimaru lived… good." Danzo said. "I want one Root squad to protect Orochimaru. His research could prove to be very useful for us. But they cannot let Orochimaru or his agents discover them. We can't afford to let Orochimaru know of our interest in his research."

"Hai Danzo-sama."

"Do you have anything else to report?"

"No Danzo-sama."

"You are dismissed." The Root member disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Danzo to his thoughts. _Orochimaru's research is very promising. It's a shame Hiruzen found out about his experiments while he was still here at the academy, I could've kept a better eye on his research. _

_But what about Orochimaru's research would cause you to protect Orochimaru from Naruto Itachi? I doubt you would want to turn your little brother into a mindless drone. Sasuke was one of your greatest weaknesses while you were here…_

* * *

Tsunade slowly stirred to the sound of a slow and steady beep. She opened her eyes to find herself with her head down on Jiraiya's hospital bed. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each.

_Wow I'm pathetic…_ The busty celesti thought to herself. _I sat in a hospital room and cried myself to sleep… Jiraiya would be giving me so much crap right now if he was awake._

"_They say that a person can hear you even while they're in a coma after all." _Naruto's words rang through her mind. She had yet to try to speak to the old pervert, because she had been too busy trying to distract herself from her guilt.

She leaned in so that her mouth was pressed up against Jiraiya's ear.

"I want you to know... that I'm so sorry." She whispered so quietly, that even if he were awake he would have to strain to hear her words, even though they were being spoken directly into his ear. "I'm not just sorry for doing this to you, but I'm sorry for everything. You've done so much for me over the years… More than I would ever let you know. You've done so much for me… And I need just one more favor from you…"

Tsunade blinked back a tear. "I need you to live... I need you to return to me. I need you to tell me how we met. I've never told you this, but it was always one of my favorite memories and now… Now I can't remember it. I don't know what that bastard did to me, but you saved me from him before. You saved me from becoming his mindless monster. I need you to come back and save me again, I don't know what to do… I'm afraid to search my memories, because I'm afraid what else I may have forgotten. Please wake up…"

Tsunade stared intently at the white-haired man for a few seconds, hoping against hope that his eyes would shoot open and he would give her one of his lecherous smiles. But his facial expression didn't change in the slightest.

_God, I can't believe there was actually a part of me that thought that was going to help._ Tsunade reprimanded herself. She knew the human body quite well. She stood and walked out of Jiraiya's room to get some fresh air, and maybe some breakfast.

If she would've turned her head to look at Jiraiya as she was stepping out of the door to his room, she would've noticed that his lips had tugged upwards into a smile.

* * *

Sunlight streaming onto her face brought Sakura out of her slumber. She blinked her eyes and buried her face into Naruto's neck to shield herself from the bright light. After staying like that for a couple of minutes, she bravely ventured away from the safety of her guardian's neck and met the sun's light head on.

She glanced at Naruto's face and was relieved to see that he was still asleep. She was slightly worried that he might get up in the middle of the night after she had gone to sleep and gone back to watching over her and Tsunade.

A loud gurgle came from Sakura's unhappy stomach, and she was even more relieved that Naruto was still asleep. It simply wasn't dignified for a lady to let a man hear her stomach growl after all! She reluctantly began disentangling herself from her guardian, as she attempted to get her mind turning to clear away the morning fog.

Naruto groaned and blearily opened his eyes as she removed her arm from his waist.

"Sakura?"

"Good morning Naruto. It's still early, go back to sleep." The morning fog was suddenly cleared from Sakura's mind as the familiar blue circle appeared around her guardian's neck.

"Shit! I mean… feel free to go back to sleep if you want." Sakura quickly corrected before the seal could really hurt Naruto.

The whiskered guardian sat up with a lopsided grin on his face. "Nah, I feel pretty well rested. Want to go grab some breakfast?"

Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him with her out of bed. "I thought you'd never ask!"

* * *

After the two had put on their usual attire, they walked the streets of the village looking for someplace to eat.

"See what happens when you listen to me Naruto?" Sakura boasted with a smile. "It feels a lot better to be well rested than barely being able to stand, right?"

Naruto chuckled at his charge. "Well that's obvious Sakura-chan. I'm just relieved that no one tried to attack you or…"

"SAKURA?" A feminine voice called from behind the pair.

Sakura spun around with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Ino?"

* * *

Oho! Enter Ino! =P

I originally planned on writing _some_ Jir/Tsu that chapter, but just a small amount. And then the next thing I knew there was a boat load of it hanging around... But I kinda liked it =)

The demon brothers were originally going to be nameless OC's because I couldn't really think of a good unimportant bad guy who wouldn't have ties to the Akatsuki or Orochimaru. And then bam, the demon brothers popped into my mind. And lasted for about...1 page! Fun times, fun times.

Stay tuned next time to see Sakura interacting with the girl who she had been jealous of before this story began! And of course Naruto will get to hang out with whoever her guardian is!

Thanks for reading, please review, and see you next time =)


	12. Trouble in Paradise

Yeehaw chapter 12! This story is now my most reviewed story! (Which I guess makes sense seeing as how its my longest...) Thanks everyone for making this my most reviewed story, each review is much appreciated =)

A shoutout/my thanks to everyone who reviewed since last time, you all rock!: Echo Uchiha, Kiari Ferrari, DOOOOOM Lord of Waffles, aej1085, Tea Unicorn, saveme57, xPaperheartsx, RI100014, Darious Frost, Arvarno, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, Footster26, Konoha's Crimson Fox, Nutt Man 117, Epsilon, Suna no Ken, strawberryfantic, Claire Ride

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**Echo Uchiha: **=)**  
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**Kiari Ferrari: **Hehe, I love the pervy sage too much to let him die! As for Itachi... he's an enigma at this point. But I would like to point out that he still needs Naruto for his plans to succeed, so it would make sense for him to watch of the kid. **  
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**DOOOOOM Lord of Waffles: **Glad you liked it! Hope you like this one as well!**  
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**aej1085: **Awww shucks! =)**  
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**Tea Unicorn: **Well he hasn't woken up yet. But that's not to say that he isn't going to be soon! Glad you enjoyed the Jir/Tsu moments, because I've got a few more planned for this story!**  
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**saveme57: **Lol, Jiraiya is too perverted to die! If only Kishimoto realized this! Good guess on her guardians, but Shikamaru is going to show up later down the road in this story as a celesti. 

**xPaperheartsx: **Hehe, thanks =) Glad you're enjoying it! Hope you like this chapter as well!**  
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**RI100014: **Thanks! Canon Jiraiya would've summoned a toad and done some ridiculous dance if she would've whispered that to him in the manga! =P **  
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**Darious Frost: **Right? Danzo needs to get his ass kicked... As I said above, Itachi is certainly an enigma. Early in the story mentions that he once shared bonds with Naruto, now he's referring to him as his little brother... And ya, it definitely sucks to be Tsunade. Orochimaru really messed up her mind =/ As for who I have paired with Ino, not all guardian and celesti combos have feelings for each other, even though that's all I've seem to write so far! (Lol the Dori's song comment)**  
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**Arvarno: **I'm glad you gave it a shot and even more glad you liked it =) As for Naruto getting rest... remember that Guardian's have a very short lifespan once they get a charge, there's a reason for that. Don't expect for him to get too much rest.**  
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**Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: **Lol, Jiraiya was certainly one of the individuals in that memory =) I'll wait for next chapter to reveal what part he played in it though =P And Ino does like to stir up trouble... Hope you enjoy this chapter =)**  
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**Footster26: **A good guess on Ino's guardian, and one I seriously considered. But I can't use Chouji for the role I wanted Ino and her guardian to play at this point. I'm yet to write in a typical guardian and celesti pair, and Ino and her guardian will finally fulfill that role. I'm not going to say anything about Itachi's interest in Orochimaru's research =P Because I'm super sneaky like that.**  
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**Konoha's Crimson Fox: **Yes she is and she's stirring up trouble!**  
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**Nutt Man 117: **I agree, I would've loved to see some Jir/Tsu action in the actual manga/anime. I'm sure Tsunade will regret not saying anything sooner if something else happens to Jiraiya! **  
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** Epsilon: **Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it =) Hope you like this chapter too!**  
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** Suna no Ken:** /e blushes. Thanks for the lofty praise! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far =) As for the last chapter... Danzo and his plans are definitely going to be expanded on. He's actually going to have a pretty big impact on either this first arc, or the second. I'm undecided at this point when I want to use my twist with him. Bravo on your guardian guess for Ino, dead on =) I try to remain careful on all of my stories on how much other couple interaction I put in, because all of my stories are NaruSaku and listed under the NaruSaku section. So most people reading them are in here for the NaruSaku they see advertised. There's definitely going to be more Jir/Tsu moments, and more significant Jir/Tsu moments as this story progresses, but I think this chapter was about the most I'd risk dedicating to another couple in my stories. And I hope you enjoy Ino in this story =)

**strawberrtfantic:** Thanks =) /e salute. Story continued!

**Claire Ride: **I'm glad you love it =) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and would have bought my own island in Greece. How awesome would it be to say, "Ya, I own an island in Greece, what's up?"

Alright, let's get onto this show! Please do enjoy, _Guardian- Chapter 12: Trouble in Paradise_

* * *

Both Naruto and Sakura spun around upon hearing Sakura's name, and both focused on two different individuals.

"INO?" Sakura sputtered with wide eyes and a happy smile.

_Sai…_ Naruto thought as he fixed Ino's pale guardian with what would best be described as an animalistic snarl.

"Ah Naruto, so they've already let you out of the Academy." Sai greeted with a fake smile on his face. Naruto's fist clenched tightly as he resisted the urge to attack Sai. _He's a guardian too, he's protecting that girl over there. And that's just not any girl if this is the Ino Sakura spoke of… Sai is protecting Sakura's best friend… I need to be civil._

"Good to see you Sai." Naruto greeted in a "civil" tone that did a poor job of hiding his dislike of the pale guardian.

"Well if Sai knows that boy then he must be a guardian which means you're a celesti too eh Sakura?" Ino asked with a sad smile.

"That's right!" Sakura beamed as she looped her arm with Naruto's. An action which caused both Ino and Sai to raise an eyebrow. "This is my guardian Naruto. Naruto meet Ino, she's my best friend from childhood."

"It's nice to meet you Ino." Naruto said with an actual smile on his face this time.

"Nice to meet you too." Ino replied in a confused tone. _Why is her guardian letting her loop her arm around his like that? Don't tell me he didn't tell her the truth…_

"Hey Sakura, it's been a while. Why don't just the two of us go grab some breakfast?" Ino suggested. _I'm not going to let some stupid guardian mislead my best friend. Sorry Sakura, but this isn't the life we dreamed about, and you need to realize that._

"Sounds good!" Sakura replied with a bright smile.

"But…" Naruto started.

"They'll be fine Naruto." Sai interrupted as he drew two butterflies and brought them to life. "I'll have these butterflies follow them so we'll know if they're in danger." Admittingly, Sai didn't like leaving his celesti alone. But he saw the exact same thing that his celesti did. Naruto hadn't told his charge the truth about the life of a celesti and the life of a guardian. Ino, being as textbook of a celesti as you could get, would be sure to tell the pink-haired girl the truth.

"Don't worry Naruto, I've got your kunai and you've been training me. We'll be alright." Sakura assured the guardian whose arm was intertwined with hers.

Naruto sighed and disentangled his arm with his charge's and closed his eyes. His eyes reopened to reveal toad-like eyes. If Sakura wanted some alone time with her best friend that was fine, he would just monitor her and everyone's chakra around her.

"Don't you think staying in sage mode will attract attention Naruto?" Sai asked. "I really don't think it's a good idea to announce that there's a guardian in this village."

"But…" _Damnit… he's right._ "Fine." Naruto huffed, his eyes returning to their normal sapphire blue.

"Don't worry Naruto, I swear we'll be fine and I'll scream as loud as I can if I need you." Sakura again assured, this time for extra good measure she kissed his cheek. "We'll see you soon."

Both Ino and Sai's eyes widened at Sakura's action, and Ino looped her arm around Sakura's and dragged the pink-haired girl off without saying a single word to Sai.

"Why am I not surprised." Sai said, with the fake smile that Naruto detested so much still on his face.

"What are you talking about Sai…" Naruto asked in a wary tone.

"You would be stupid enough to hide the truth from your charge. Had you followed Danzo-sama's instructions during your time at the academy you would be smart enough to realize that what you're doing is wrong."

"Sakura knows the truth." Naruto snarled. "Unlike you, I'm not Danzo's lapdog. Sakura is different from other celesti and she is determined to keep me alive."

"Oh? And you let her believe she can? You know as well as I do that your life now has a short timer on it before it expires. There's nothing you or she can do to prevent your coming death. You and I are sacrifices."

"She's going to be hurt just as bad either way when I die. She cares about me, more than just as a friend. So we might as well make some great memories while we can and try to defy my fate as a guardian." Naruto retorted.

"Danzo-sama was right. You really are a disappointment to your parent's legacy." Sai replied in his monotonous voice. The bastard still had that fake smile plastered on his face.

Nartuo ground his teeth together and coated his left hand with wind chakra. "Shut the hell up Sai. I don't want to kill you because you're protecting Sakura's best friend…"

"Oh so you would betray the order and kill a fellow guardian?" Sai asked. "Surprise surprise, yet again Danzo-sama is right."

Naruto took a deep breath and let the wind chakra dissipate from his hand. "Shut the hell up Sai." The whiskered guardian turned around and started walking in the opposite direction that Sakura and Ino had gone. Sai followed him, much to Naruto's displeasure.

"So you say that your charge cares about you as more than a friend, meaning she has real feelings for you." Sai drawled.

"Yes." Naruto growled. His patience was getting the test of his lifetime the longer his conversation with Sai lasted.

"Ok. Now tell me, do you think she would have those feelings if you hadn't saved her life?"

Naruto eyes widened as he froze in his tracks. "I umm…" _Would she?_

"You know as well as I do that the answer to that question is no. She would not. She has witnessed you saving her life on multiple occasions and has put you on a pedestal. If you were just another person in her village, she never would've looked at you. She never would've developed "feelings" for you." Sai answered his own question, making sure to use finger quotations when he said "feelings."

"You don't know that…" Naruto started. _What if Sai's right? What if the reason Sakura has feelings for me is because I saved her…_

"I do. I also know that eventually as your relationship progresses she will eventually take you off the pedestal. Your charge will eventually realize that her feelings for you weren't real."

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Naruto yelled as a knot began twisting in his stomach. "Sakura really cares about me. She cares so much that she's trying to get rid of my eri seal that she accidently activated. She cares so much about me that she's determined to do whatever it takes to keep me alive. She care so…"

"All of that is because you're still on her pedestal." Sai interrupted. "You need to understand that she doesn't have true feelings for you. You need to understand that you're only hurting her more by pretending with her that you're going to live for a long time. You're a guardian. You are a sacrifice. Grow up Naruto. A guardian and a celesti cannot possibly be together." Sai finished in a harsh tone.

_I'm only hurting her more? Damnit… I am. I'm starting to believe that I might survive and stay with Sakura until the very end… If I'm starting to believe it then I'm sure she is as well. It's only going to hurt her that much more when her hope has been built up only to be crushed upon my death. I'm a guardian. My life, my soul, are a sacrifice to her destiny._

"I'll set this straight." Naruto muttered softly. "I've never liked you Sai… but thanks. I needed to hear that."

"Good, now I suggest we go get breakfast like our charges are doing. You don't want to fight on an empty stomach after all."

Naruto simply nodded at the pale guardian and followed him into a nearby food stand, his brain swirling with sad thoughts of how he was going to break this to Sakura.

* * *

Ino and Sakura sat in a food standing eating breakfast. Their walk to the stand had been pleasant filled with random chatter. Mostly Ino questioned Sakura on what had happened in Konoha during her two-year absence. The two ate their breakfast and chatted until a handsome brown-haired man approached them. His eyes were locked onto Sakura.

"Excuse miss, I couldn't help but noticing you. You are quite possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. If you're not busy, would you like to get dinner with me tonight? It will be my treat." The man said with a suave smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw a slightly jealous look overtake Ino's face. It felt strangely satisfying to have this guy ask her out instead of Ino. But she had no interest in this guy, even if he was cute. He was no Naruto.

"Thank you… but there's someone else. He's my…" Sakura started, but paused. _Is Naruto my boyfriend? We've both made it clear to each other that we have feelings for one another… But we've never really talked about what we are…_ "He's someone who I care about very much." Sakura finished. _As soon as I see you again Naruto we're going to have a talk about this. I want to be able to say "sorry, but I have a boyfriend!"_

"Oh, he must be a really great guy if you care about him!" The man replied awkwardly with a slight smile.

"Ya…" Sakura smiled softly. "He is."

"Well I'll be going then…" The man said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. Have a nice day miss."

"Alright Sakura. Now that we're all settled, it's time you and I had a little talk." Ino said as soon as the man walked away. "This is a talk your guardian should've had with you when he first picked you up, but it appears you got the short end of the stick when you got your guardian."

"What? Naruto is the best guardian I could ask for. I feel nearly invincible with him around!" Sakura growled. Even if this was her best friend, she didn't like anyone talking bad about Naruto. Truthfully, Sakura's mind had been distracted the entire time she had been telling Ino what she missed in Konoha during the last two years. She saw how Naruto reacted when he saw Ino's guardian, and that worried her. Naruto and Sai obviously had a bad history.

"Listen Sakura… when we were younger and we dreamed about the life of a celesti, and how great it would be to have some handsome guardian by our sides protecting us until we saved the world… That was all wrong. My life… your life… is not like that. The life of a celesti…"

"I know the truth Ino. I know what a guardian's expected life span is once they get a charge. I know I can't realistically expect to have Naruto as my guardian for much longer than a year, and I know that the chances are high that he's going to sacrifice himself to protect me." Sakura interrupted with a frown.

"But…" Sakura's frown tugged upwards into a determined smile. "I don't care about that. Naruto is more to me than my guardian. I accidently activated his eri seal, and when I did that I gained the ability to heal using my celesti chakra. The odds may be stacked against us, but I don't care. I'm not going to let Naruto die. I like… I love him. I love him Ino, and I will keep him alive. I will defy the odds and Naruto will be by my side and I will be by his."

Ino snorted. "Please Sakura. You think you're in love with him? How long have you really known him?"

"Not very long…" Sakura admitted. "But I knew the very second I saw him that he was the one. I know love at first sight is cliché, and a lot of people don't believe it's real… but I loved Naruto from the second I saw him."

"Fine Sakura. Fine, you love him. But you need to understand, you **cannot** keep him alive. There have been other celesti who have unlocked healing powers and yet they still fail to keep their guardians alive. It's impossible. Guardians exist to give their lives to protect us. You can't keep Naruto alive, he's going to sacrifice himself for you sooner than later."

"Naruto is strong, stronger than…"

"Sai is my third guardian, did you know that." Ino interrupted. "My first guardian, Asuma, he told me the truth about the life of a celesti right away. But I didn't believe him, he was so strong. I didn't believe that anyone could kill him." A sad frown appeared on Ino's face.

"Now don't get me wrong, I didn't love Asuma like you apparently love Naruto. But I saw him as a sort of father figure. I got close to him, even though he tried to keep the distance between us. I got too close. While Asuma was powerful, he eventually started to get worn down. There wasn't time in between battles for him to properly recover or for his chakra to fully restore. And eventually, he sacrificed himself for me. He covered his body in exploding tags and grabbed onto the enemy. He told me to run to the nearest village and await my next guardian. I cried so hard, but I obeyed him anyways. As I was running I heard the explosion and when I looked behind me I could see smoke rising in the distance."

"Ino…"

"Asuma sacrificed himself for me. He told me it was going to happen, but I refused to believe him. It hurt… it hurt so much to lose him. But losing Asuma also opened my eyes to the truth. I can't even tell you my second guardian's name, I didn't bother learning it and he sacrificed himself for me during his second week as my guardian. I've only bothered learning Sai's name because he's been around the longest. I know that he's a sacrifice, and when he dies, I will feel no pain, no sorrow, because I don't look at Sai as a person, I look at Sai as a sacrifice. Sakura… I'm telling you this now because I want to open your eyes to the truth without having to experience the pain that I had to."

"I've already heard a similar story from another celesti I met. Like me, she fell in love with her guardian, and like me, she unlocked her healing powers. But her guardian died anyways. So believe me, I've heard your story already. But I don't care. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. I don't care that the odds are against Naruto and me, I'm not going to lose him."

Ino couldn't help but smile at her best friend's stubborn determination.

"I see… Well fine then Sakura. Tell me about Naruto, it sounded like you were about to say that he's your boyfriend until you paused."

"Well… we've already told each other that we have feelings for each other. Naruto even told me I'm his most precious person… But we haven't really defined what we are yet. I hope we're boyfriend and girlfriend, but I can't say that for sure without talking to him about it…"

"Oooh, sounds like it's only a matter of time. So have you guys fu…"

"SHUT UP INO." Sakura yelled as her face matched her hair. "We've only kissed… and slept together a couple of times…"

Ino gave her best friend a lecherous grin. "Well, I know that you're determined to keep him alive. But you should totally get on him already!"

Sakura dropped her head in complete embarrassment. "Ino shut up… we're not there yet."

"You love him, sounds like he loves you, I don't see the problem Sakura!"

"We've barely known each other for a month Ino!"

"Ah but it was love at first sight right?" Ino countered.

"Our sex life is none of your business pig." Sakura muttered.

"Sex life eh?" Ino grinned. "So you were…"

"DROP IT YOU PERVERTED PIG!" Sakura roared causing Ino to break out in laughter.

"Jeez Sakura, I missed you. I forgot how fun it is to rile you up about a boy."

Sakura snorted. "I'm going to take that as a compliment. I missed you too Ino. I'm glad we ran into each other."

The girls had finished their breakfast during their…discussion and Ino held out a finger which one Sai's ink butterflies landed on.

"We're finished with breakfast. Get back here." Ino ordered. Sakura frowned. She was truly glad to see her best friend again, but it saddened her that Ino no longer treated guardians like they were people. The Ino that she grew up with would never have treated someone like that.

_This life has really changed you Ino… I hope it doesn't do the same to me…_

Sakura and Ino walked out into the street and the two celesti waited for their guardian's to come get them.

* * *

Sai and Naruto had long since finished their breakfast and were sitting in the restaurant in silence. Naruto had a troubled look on his face, and Sai didn't see the point of saying anything so opted to stare at Naruto in curiosity.

Naruto and he had never been the best of friends in the academy. Sai was a couple years older, and was one of Danzo's favorite students. Naruto on the other hand, was a colossal disappointment in Danzo's eyes, so consequently, he was one in Sai's eyes as well.

The boy was strong, but he should've been stronger considering his parents were two of the most powerful guardians in the order. Sai always wondered why he was considered a prodigy when he was so worthless with genjutsus.

Throughout their academy days, Sai and Naruto butted heads. Sometimes because Danzo would order Sai to attack and mock Naruto to give him motivation to become stronger, other times because Sai simply didn't understand the whiskered boy.

It actually surprised Sai when Naruto thanked him. He expected Naruto to hide the truth from his first charge, the boy was never the brightest in his or Danzo's eyes. Yet Naruto listed to Sai's speech, a speech in which Sai didn't bother holding anything back, and thanked him. While Sai was glad that Naruto was going to take his advice and set his charge straight, a very small part of him was slightly disappointed.

In all of their days together at the academy, one thing that Sai learned about Naruto was that he never gave up. Taking Sai's advice was definitely giving up. And while Sai would never admit it to Danzo, or anyone else for that matter, he secretly admired Naruto's determination.

"_We're finished with breakfast. Get back here."_ Came the order from his charge, interrupting his musings.

"Our charges have finished their breakfast." Sai said, obviously interrupting Naruto from whatever gloomy thoughts the boy had gotten lost in. "We're going back to them now." Sai got up to walk away, but was stopped as Naruto grabbed his arm.

"My hirashin will get us to them faster. Close your eyes, it can be a bit disconcerting for people not used to it." Naruto said with a monotone voice. Sai did as commanded, and closed his eyes. As soon as his eyes were closed, he felt a strange tug on his body and heard a gasp from Ino.

"How the…" Ino started.

"That's one of Naruto's techniques." Sakura said proudly. Sai opened his eyes to see his and Naruto's charge. One with a look of complete shock on her face, and the other with a smile filled with pride.

_So that's the hirashin… What an impressive technique._

"Well we should get going, come on Sai."

"Wait… how long are you guys going to be here?" Sakura asked. "Naruto and I are probably going to be here for a little while. I'd love to see you again, and I think it would be nice if you got to know Naruto." Sakura added that last part with a blush on her face, and a matching blush made its way onto Naruto's downtrodden expression as well.

"Hmm, well we'll be here for another day at least. Want to get dinner tonight?" Ino suggested.

Sakura smiled at her best friend. "That sounds great! We'll see you tonight." Ino smiled and nodded, before walking off with her pale guardian in tow. Sakura turned around and grabbed Naruto's arm and began pulling him in the opposite direction.

"We need to talk Naruto."

"You're right Sakura… we do." The sad tone of Naruto's voice made Sakura stop and look into his eyes. She had to bite back a gasp when she saw the depressed look on his face.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

"Sakura…" _What do I say… I don't want to give up. I don't want to break her heart right now… I don't want to break my heart right now… But I have to… Damnit… _"I… Well… Nevermind. Forget I said anything." _Damnit! Why can't I do it? This is better for her in the long run. _

"Naruto, I would really like it if you told me what's wrong." Sakura repeated, careful to word the phrase so it wasn't a command.

Naruto looked at Sakura with a pained look on his face. _"Do you think she would have those feelings if you didn't save her life?" _Sai's words rang through his mind. _Damnit, I can't deal with this right now…_

"Just drop it Sakura, ok?"

"I'm not going to drop it! Something is troubling you and I want to know! Please don't make me force you to tell me what's wrong."

Naruto's eyes snapped open. "Are you threatening to use the eri seal against me?" He asked in an incredulous tone.

"Naruto…" Sakura started carefully. "I care about you a lot. Your happiness means a lot me. I'm not going to sit here while you're unhappy and do nothing about it. I don't want to force you to do anything, but I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. If it takes me using this stupid seal to find out what's bothering you then damnit I'll use it."

A bitter chuckle escaped Naruto's lips. "So that's it eh Sakura? I won't tell you, but wait! I'm your slave so you'll just make me tell you anyways." In the back of his mind, a small part of Naruto realized how ridiculous that sounded. He knew that Sakura didn't view him as a slave or anything close. But that small part was drowned out but the feeling of betrayal that was flooding through Naruto's body. Normally that feeling of betrayal would've been squelched right away, but after his conversation with Sai, Naruto's mind was too distracted to think clearly. He was too stressed to really think about what he was saying.

"WHAT?" Sakura yelled in surprise. "I would NEVER consider you to be my slave! I can't believe you would even think that!"

"Your mouth says one thing Sakura, and your actions say something entirely different." Naruto spat back.

"Damnit Naruto! I just want to know what's wrong so I can help you! NOW TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG!"

The blue circle appeared around Naruto's neck and a searing pain seeped through his body as he resisted the seal.

"I'm not your damn slave! I'm not going to tell you if I don't want to!" Naruto growled. The pain this time was more intense than it had been previously, and the whiskered guardian dropped to a knee. He formed the familiar cross seal and summoned a shadow clone.

"Protect…her." Naruto commanded between pants of pain. "Sakura… if you don't want to…kill me…I suggest you drop this seal." Before Sakura could respond, her guardian disappeared in a flash leaving her in tears with a very pissed off looking shadow clone.

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to Naruto…" Sakura whispered quietly as tears fell down her face. She turned to the clone that was now scowling at her.

"Can you tell me if he's ok now? I'm not sure how the seal works from a distance." The clone didn't respond, instead it just closed its eyes and entered sage mode. It dropped out of sage mode quickly and its angry eyes met with hers.

"He's fine now. The seal has stopped."

"So… you're mad at me too huh?" Sakura asked in a quiet voice.

"Mad at you?" The clone look up at her with an angry face. "I'm not mad at you Sakura. I'm furious. How could you use the seal against the original like that? How could you betray him after everything he's done for you?"

"I just wanted to help him… I know he didn't want to tell me what's wrong, but if I knew… I could've helped to make it better." Sakura answered as more tears fell from her eyes. "There's not much I can do for him… but I can make sure that he's happy. At least… I thought I could. But apparently I can't even do that."

"You're a celesti, that's not your job." The clone replied coldly. "Your job is to let your guardian protect you, not turn your guardian into your personal slave for your entertainment."

Sakura wanted to reply, but she found that she couldn't. _The shadow clone is a replication of Naruto… So this is how Naruto feels… God he thinks I want him to be my slave… I will never want that…_

"I know you're pissed at me right now… But can you take me to our room? I don't really want to break down in the middle of the street. Besides… me crying in the street will only draw more attention to myself." Sakura said meekly.

Naruto's clone didn't reply to her, it simply stood up and grabbed her arm while avoiding eye contact. She felt the familiar tug on her body and they were back in her and Naruto's room. She laid down on their bed and buried her face into her pillow and began crying.

_I'm sorry Naruto that you think I want to control you… Please come back soon…_

* * *

Naruto sighed in relief when he felt the seal go away. It was definitely more painful than it had ever been. He had flashed to a grassy hill overlooking the small village.

_That's the second time in two days she's threatened to use the seal to make me do what she wants… And this time she actually went through with it… I wrote it off the first time because she was going to use it out of concern for my health… but this time… she used it to try to force me to talk when I clearly didn't want to!_

Naruto sighed in frustration.

"_Thank you Naruto… Thank you for saving me from having to use that stupid seal."_ Sakura's thank you from last night echoed through his mind.

"Sakura hates using the eri seal…" Naruto muttered.

"_But I'm not doing it because I want to control you, I'm willing to do it because I care about you."_

"The only reason she activated the seal was so she could help me." _And I blew up on her… I'm such a jackass… I really wouldn't have been so upset if I wasn't so determined to put an end to what's going on between us. I need to apologize to her…_

Yet even though Naruto realized he should not have gotten so angry at Sakura, he was still angry at her. He couldn't help but feel betrayed at her for using the seal on him. _I guess it's natural to get angry at someone who you're with… I just need to let this anger blow over so I don't do anything else I regret…_

Naruto closed his eyes and let the soothing energy of nature wash into his body to clear his mind. Once in sage mode, he started scanning all of the chakra signatures in the village. It appeared that Sakura and his clone had gone back to their room. Tsunade was with Jiraiya, who based on his chakra seemed to be getting better, although he didn't appear to be conscious yet. Ino and Sai were on an inn on the opposite end of the town from the inn he and Sakura were staying in. Naruto increased his scan to scan things outside of the village. He felt the chakra of small rabbits, and deer, and Itachi, and squir…

"ITACHI?" Naruto yelled in a panicked voice as his toad-like eyes shot open. "SHIT SHIT SHIT!" He swore. _Ok… calm down. I can't let Sakura see that I'm worried or else she'll get scared. _Naruto forced his face into an impassive mask. He wished he could force a smile on his face, but he was too scared. He had never beaten Itachi in the academy, and Itachi had helped train him. He flashed to Sakura instantly.

"Naruto?"

Naruto didn't look at Sakura, he couldn't. If he looked at her the impassive mask he put up might break and she might see how worried he is.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto muttered, summoning 7 sage shadow clones.

"Form a circle around her, and protect her. You." Naruto pointed to the clone he had summoned earlier. "You stand in the middle of the circle with her. If any of them get dispelled, grab her and use the hirashin to get as far away as possible."

"Naruto what's going on?" Sakura asked.

Again, Naruto ignored her. "If she tries to escape, knock her out. If she tries to activate my seal, knock her out. We cannot afford a repeat of Orochimaru's hideout." Naruto's nodded. The whiskered guardian focused on Itachi's chakra. _This is it… I need to defeat Itachi to protect Sakura…_

Naruto disappeared in a flash.

* * *

Sakura was laying down her bed still crying when she heard the familiar sound of the hirashin.

"Naruto?" She called out, and her heart leapt when she turned around and saw him. _Ok… Now just make it clear that I do not, and will never want to control him…_

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto muttered, without so much as looking at her. _He's still mad at me… He won't even look at me…_

"Form a circle around her and protect her. You. You stand in the middle of the circle with her. If any of them get dispelled, grab her and use the hirashin to get as far away as possible."

A feeling of dread suddenly spread throughout Sakura's body.

"Naruto what's going on?"

"If she tries to escape, knock her out. If she tries to activate my seal, knock her out." Sakura felt tears threatening to fall again. _He's so angry at me that he won't even respond to me… _

"We cannot afford a repeat of Orochimaru's hideout." _Whatever the danger it is… it's worse than Orochimaru's hideout? He could've died in there…_

Sakura opened her mouth to call out to her guardian, but before she could get a word out he disappeared in a flash.

"Will one of you please tell me what's going on?" Sakura begged the clones forming a ring around her.

One of the clones looked over its shoulder and its toad-like eyes bored into hers.

"Itachi's here." A wave of paralyzing fear swept through Sakura's entire body. "But… but he can't take on Itachi alone! He needs me there to heal him!"

"No way Sakura." The clone that was standing by her side from earlier spoke up. "The original has never defeated Itachi. There's no way we can take the risk of you being on the battlefield with Itachi around. Don't make us knock you out."

Tears freely fell from Sakura's face. _Please don't die Naruto… please don't die._

* * *

Dun dun dun! I know I'm a mean person leaving it at such a cliffhanger!

GASP! NARUTO AND SAKURA FIGHTING? WHAT KIND OF NARUSAKU STORY HAS THEM FIGHT AFTER THEY GET TOGETHER? BAD AUTHOR, BAD AUTHORRRRR!

I introduced Ino and Sai because I was yet to introduce a typical guardian and celesti pair. Until them, the only three we had been introduced to were Naruto and Sakura, who are obviously not the typical duo; and Tsunade and Jiraiya who aren't a sterotypical guardian and celesti pair due to Tsunade's age, and Jiraiya's unique situation; and lastly Itachi and Sasuke who are obviously not the typical pair since they're betraying the Guardian Order.

So now we have a celesti and guardian pair that acts how they're supposed to. The guardian has very few emotions, and views himself as a meat shield for his celesti. The celesti doesn't care about the guardian, and doesn't even really see the guardian as a human being. It was only natural that a stereotypical guardian and celesti duo would question Naruto and Sakura's relationship.

One last note- in this story I've given Sakura Naruto's ability to win people over that we see Naruto employ thousands of times in the manga/anime. Naruto still has it, but he's not really in a position to use it in this universe compared to Sakura. Thus we can see that in both Tsunade and Ino in wishing Sakura luck. We can even see the beginnings of this "ability" actually changing someone as Tsunade who started out as a more stereotypical celesti has warmed up to Jiraiya.

Anywho... I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please do review!

Stay tuned for next time for the first confrontation between Naruto and Itachi since Naruto found out the truth!


	13. How Much We Care

Woohoo! Chapter 13!

My thanks to everyone who reviewed added this story to their favorites/alerts. I appreciate it!

A shout and thanks to everyone who reviewed since last time: aej1085, saveme57, Tea Unicorn, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, Darious Frost, melapoy, harrietta solomon,Konoha's Crimson Fox, LOL, Echo Uchiha, Suna No Ken, Footster26, PostLifeSyndrome, Nutt Man 117, random reviewer who's name was blank

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**aej1085: **Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully this one helps to make your day as well =)**  
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** saveme57: **I introduced Ino and Sai to show that there are stereotypical guardian and celesti pairs out there which means Ino has the proper attitude for a celesti. Of course in the manga, Naruto always manages to affect and change people. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Naruto and Sakura have the same affect in this story? Also Shikamaru is not a guardian, he will be showing up as a celesti in this story. So there will be no ShikaIno pairing by that route in this story.**  
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** Tea Unicorn: **Hehe =) I'm a mean writer. Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well!**  
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** Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: **Well Jiraiya definitely won't be joining Naruto as he is still in the hospital in a coma after getting his sternum broken by Tsunade. Last..two chapters ago now, he showed some sort of reaction. He didn't actually wake from his coma. As for Sai, he's got other things he's busy with. It's just going to be Naruto and Itachi. Enjoy the chapter =)**  
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** Darious Frost: **Sai was raised by Danzo in this story, so it makes sense that he has nothing in the way of emotions. He was a jerk in the last chapter, but he doesn't really hate Naruto. So there may be hope for him yet. Maybe... I'm glad you liked last chapter and I hope you like this one too!**  
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** melapoy: **Hehe, ya. That wasn't very cool on Sai's part! Here's to hoping he can redeem himself a little and Naruto and Sakura get together! =) And thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!**  
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** harrietta solomon: **/e salutes**  
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**Konoha's Crimson Fox: **Well... He WAS raised by Danzo..**  
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** LOL: **Shhh, you're spilling all of us NaruSaku writers secrets!**  
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** Echo Uchiha: **=)**  
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** Suna No Ken: **Nah, nothing special happens when multiple celesti are in the same spot. The civilization set up in Guardian has been in existence around the same amount of time as the Naruto universe, I'm sure sometime during those many years three celesti happened to be in the same area. Just not in the same area for long. All that happens when celesti gather nearby each other is they attract more trouble, because now people going after celesti can get 2+ at once. Tsunade wasn't able to access her chakra to heal Jiraiya last we heard from her, so she would currently be useless in a fight. And Sai is busy doing other things. It's just going to be Itachi and Naruto! Also, I'm glad you liked my characterization of Ino. She's a fun character to write so I like getting her in my stories in some way or another. I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well!**  
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** Footster26: **Sorry for the cliffhanger. As for the rest of your review, I simply same "hmmm?" with an innocent look upon my face)**  
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** PostLifeSyndrome: **LMAO! That would have been the greatest manga chapter ever!**  
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** Nutt Man 117: **Hehe, I couldn't resist writing that scene in the way it should've been written. Eff Sasuke. I might still be doing a happy dance if Sakura was instead smiling and thinking of Naruto while talking about her someone else =P I hope you enjoy the new chapter!**  
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** random reviewer who's name was blank:** Glad you like, and I shall do just that!

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Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and Arrested Development would still be on. Why did they ever cancel that show?

Onto the show! Please do enjoy _Guardian_-Chapter 13: How Much We Care

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Itachi sat in a meditative pose behind a bush just outside of the village gate where Naruto was currently recuperating. The past day was relatively uneventful; the Uchiha guardian only had to kill one weak bandit that was after the celesti. Itachi probably could've let him through, because the man couldn't even access his chakra. But he didn't want to take the risk, he wasn't sure what kind of state Naruto was in and the man was wielding a particularly nasty looking sword.

If Naruto was still exhausted and the man happened to catch him off guard then it could spell trouble. So Itachi instead roasted the man alive with a giant fireball.

Itachi's eyes widened as he suddenly felt Naruto's chakra right behind him. The red-eyed guardian whirled around to see the man he viewed as a little brother standing across from him in sage mode. _He's already recovered that much? It seems I underestimated you Naruto._

"Hello Naruto." Itachi greeted, trying to mask his surprise at the young guardian's sudden appearance.

"Itachi." Naruto greeted back, trying to mask the fear he was feeling. _I can't be afraid of him. If I lose this fight then Itachi will kill Sakura…_

"I see you've recovered quite nicely from your fight with Tsunade." _No use in fighting if we don't have to…_ Itachi thought.

"How did you know about my fight with Tsunade?"

"I keep tabs on you Naruto, you are my little brother after all." Itachi said, purposefully reminding Naruto of their bond in hopes of avoiding a fight.

"Why Itachi. Why have you betrayed the order? Why are you trying to kill Sakura?" Naruto asked in a strained voice. _I have to be strong, I can't show any weakness in front of Itachi._

"So you know the truth…" Itachi mused. "I have my reasons, and my reasons are beneficial for you as well."

"Well what the hell are they then? Why betray the order that is set up to protect people like your brother?" A small amount of anger was starting to seep into Naruto's voice.

"The Guardian Order is inefficient and unfair. There's another way to protect the celesti that doesn't involve sacrificing thousands of guardians every year. I intend to find it."

"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO KILL EVERYONE TO FIND IT?" Naruto roared. "How the hell is killing everyone in the order going to protect your charge?"

"I can't tell you that right now Naruto. But believe me when I say that what I'm doing is in your best interests. Join me Naruto and regain your destiny. Join me and shed the role of the sacrifice."

"JOIN YOU AND LET YOU KILL SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto bellowed. "HELL NO."

"This girl… you seem to care about her, yet she isn't here. Are you having some sort of troubles with her?" Itachi asked smoothly, redirecting the conversation.

"She's not here because you're here. You're a threat to her."

Itachi chuckled. "Come on now Naruto. I know you better than that. When you want to protect someone you keep them near you at all times. Whenever Konohamaru was bullied back in the academy and you confronted his tormentors, you took him with you because you were always worried that if he left your sight one of them might get to him while you're distracted with the rest. You like having those you're protecting near you so you can keep an eye on them, no matter the danger. The fact that your charge isn't here right now tells me that you're upset with her."

"I… Ok. I'm angry at Sakura-chan right now because she purposefully used the eri seal on me to make me do what she wants…" Naruto admitted. "But I still care about her. And if I have to choose between her and you… I'll still choose her every time."

Naruto's words had a strange effect on Itachi. On one hand, it hurt a little that his brother would choose someone else's bonds over the ones they shared, yet at the same time he was happy that Naruto had found a woman he cared about so strongly.

"I see. It sounds like you're in love Naruto." Itachi replied with a small smile.

"What?" Naruto gasped. His cheeks were flushed and he temporarily forgot that Itachi was now his enemy. His mind was temporarily seeing Itachi as his older brother again. "I never said that! I mean… I think I love her, but we haven't known each other for that long…"

Itachi chuckled at Naruto's response. "Believe me Naruto, you are in love with Sakura Haruno. I'm sorry I ever tried to have her killed. I wanted to kill your charge to free you, but it appears that with Sakura you are already free."

Naruto smiled at the older guardian. "Ya, I guess I am aren't I?" Naruto's smile dropped as he suddenly dropped into a fighting stance.

"But I think we've been talking long enough Itachi. I've missed this, but you are still my enemy. You want to destroy the guardian order, the same order that has been put in place to protect Sakura." Naruto stated calmly. All of the fear that he had previously held about facing Itachi was gone, and now he was calm. He was ready.

"A threat to the order is a threat to Sakura. You are one of my precious people, so I am going to give you this chance. Turn away from this path Itachi; the Order has been put in place for a reason. Stop trying to destroy it, and I won't have to destroy you."

Itachi again smiled at Naruto. "You certainly have matured over the years. Now that I know the truth about how you feel about Sakura, I am no longer a threat to her Naruto. My plan will ensure that she's protected even better than she's currently protected by the Order. But if you still see us as enemies then so be it."

Itachi stood still and waited for Naruto's response, he was yet to drop into his own fighting stance.

"I'm stronger than I was the last time we sparred Itachi. Don't underestimate me. Get into your fighting stance now. As long as you're an enemy of the Order, you're an enemy of Sakura, and that makes you an enemy of mine." Naruto stated calmly.

"I didn't come here to fight you Naruto, I came here to protect you." Itachi replied catching Naruto off guard.

"You…huh?" Naruto sputtered.

"When I heard about the condition you were in after your fight with Tsunade, I decided to come protect you so you could recuperate. With the shape you were in, anyone could've easily picked you off. You didn't even notice two men who were going to kill you and both celesti you were protecting while running to this village. I killed them, and killed another man who tried to enter this village to kill your charge. But since you're recuperated, I don't need to stick around."

"Why would you protect me? What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his face screwed with a look of utter confusion.

"Sasuke is safe where he's at. As for why I would protect you… you're my little brother. I'm not going to stand by and watch you die, whether you're my enemy or not. Now drop out of your battle stance, I'm not looking to fight you Naruto." Itachi replied.

"I… thank you Itachi. I'm sorry we have to be enemies. Next time we meet, I can't say that I'll let you walk away." Naruto dropped out of sage mode and extended his hand to Itachi.

Itachi grasped his hand in a firm handshake and smiled at him. "You're welcome Naruto. I wish we weren't enemies too, I guess I'll just have to avoid you from here on out." With that, Itachi turned and started walking into the forest. Before he disappeared into the tree line he paused and called over his shoulder,

"Oh and Naruto… congratulations on getting a girlfriend. Don't worry about your fight, couples fight all the time."

Naruto blushed. "We're not a couple yet!"

Itachi chuckled as he disappeared into the tree line.

Once Itachi had disappeared from view Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Couples fight all the time eh?"

With that thought he focused on Sakura and disappeared in a flash.

Naruto never saw the little hand-drawn ink mouse that had witnessed his entire conversation with Itachi. The mouse disappeared in a puff of smoke after Naruto flashed away.

* * *

Sai sighed as he wrote down the details of Itachi and Naruto. This was damning evidence against the whiskered boy, and once Danzo got ahold of it he'll use it to kill Naruto for betraying the Order. While Naruto may not have directly betrayed the Order, he did let its biggest threat go.

The pale guardian finished writing and looked down at the scroll. _Once Danzo-sama gets this, he will send root to kill Naruto right away. He might even have me do it…_

"_I've never liked you Sai… but thanks."_ Sai wasn't used to being thanked. The job of a guardian is a thankless one right up to the very end. _Naruto let Itachi walk away because he wasn't a direct threat to his charge, and because of their bond. What a curious thing…bonds._

"If I send this to Danzo-sama…one of the most intriguing guardians in the Order will be killed…" Sai muttered under his breath. _But by duty I'm bound to report this… _Sai's eyes lit up and he made a few hand signs and pressed his hand down onto the scroll he had written. 12 puffs of smoke appeared clearing to review 12 copies of the original scroll.

_If I send this to each of the council members Danzo-sama won't be able to act on his own. He'll need to get the approval of the council. Maybe Hiruzen can save Naruto's life…_

Sai drew 13 hawks and summoned them all. He quickly attached a scroll to each hawk and sent his flock of ink hawks on their way to the academy. _I hope you survive this Naruto._

* * *

Sakura was a nervous wreck as she sat in the middle of the circle of clones Naruto had created around her. Her guardian, the man she cared about more than anything else in this world, was currently fighting a powerful and very dangerous man by himself. A man that Naruto's clone admitted Naruto had never defeated.

"Listen… if I'm going to be stuck here the least you guys can do is keep me updated on the fight!" Sakura called out in the calmest voice she could muster.

"There isn't anything to update you on Sakura." One of the clones replied. "They haven't started fighting yet… It's strange really."

_They haven't started fighting yet? Maybe I can get down there then before he is seriously injured!_ Sakura tensed up her muscles as she planned the best way to get out of the room without one of Naruto's clones knocking her out.

"Don't even think about it Sakura." Naruto's clone that was standing with her in the center of the clone ring said. "Right now you would only distract the original in a fight with Itachi. I know you're worried, but you need to stay here."

_I'd only be a distraction right now? Is he that angry at me still that my presence would only hinder him…_

Sakura relaxed her muscles and let out a frustrated sigh. "This sucks! I hate being left behind!"

"Well that's weird…" Another one of Naruto's clones said in a baffled tone.

"What's weird?" Sakura asked. Before the clone could respond, Naruto flashed directly in front of her.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled and tackled him to the ground, hugging him tightly. "I was so worried…"

"Hehe, don't worry Sakura-chan. I'm fine."

_He called me Sakura-chan! Has he forgiven me?_

"Thanks guys." Naruto nodded to his clones before dispelling them. He chuckled when memories of Sakura trying to get out of the room to help him flashed out of his mind. His laughter died down and a frown overtook his face as the memory from his original clone popped into his mind. The memory of Sakura laying down on the bed balling her eyes out…

"Naruto…" " Sakura…" both started at the same time.

"Go ahead Sakura-chan." Naruto said softly with a small grin.

"Thanks… I just want to apologize for earlier. I know from the way your clone reacted that you think I want to control you… I want you to know that I don't. I will never think of you as my slave, not even for a second. I care way too much about you to think of you like that."

"It's o…" Naruto started

"But I won't apologize for using the seal." Sakura continued, cutting Naruto off. "When you care about someone as much as I care about you... You want to do everything in your power to make sure they're happy. I care about you so much Naruto, and I will do whatever I have to do to make sure that you're happy. If that involves me using the seal to make you tell me what's wrong so I can help cheer you up, then I'm going to use the seal. I'm sorry if that makes you angry, or if you feel like I'm betraying you, but I will only ever purposefully use the seal to help you. I want you to keep that in mind." Sakura's eyes were strong, and filled with determination and love.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at his charge's stubbornness.

"I shouldn't have blown up at you like that Sakura… I would never have said those things if it was any other day, but mixed with what else I had to…" _Had to do? I still have to do it…_ Naruto stopped talking and his eyes were suddenly staring at the floor. _Damnit… _

"Naruto?" Sakura tried to capture his eyes with her own, but failed. She recognized his facial expression from the same one he wore earlier when he exploded at her.

"Sakura… your feelings for me… If I wasn't your guardian would you still have them?" Naruto asked in a quiet voice, his eyes still fixated on the floor.

"What? Where's this coming from Naruto?" Sakura asked as she continued to try to catch his eyes with her own.

"Just answer the question Sakura. If I were just another ordinary boy in your village, would you have developed feelings for me… feelings like you have right now?"

"That's a stupid question baka!" Sakura chided. "My village was pretty big, I don't know if I would've met you if you weren't my guardian!"

"Answer the question Sakura…" Naruto whispered. _This is it..._

"Fine." Sakura huffed. "If you weren't a guardian, and you were an ordinary boy in my village, and I was lucky enough to still know you, then hell yes I would still have these feelings for you!"

Startled sapphire eyes shot up to meet exasperated emerald eyes.

"Is that what was wrong? You thought the only reason I liked you was because you're my guardian? I know you can be a baka sometimes Naruto, but this is pushing it even for you!"'

Naruto fought down the urge to grin happily. _She could still be fooling herself…_

"Sakura, how can you really be sure? How can you really be sure that you're not just putting me on a pedestal because I saved you? What if after we've been together for a while you realize that your feelings for me aren't real…"

Sakura sighed again, but this time instead of replying, she grabbed the back of his head and crashed her lips into his. She was tired of using her words, so instead used her kiss to convey her feelings to Naruto. She pushed every ounce of love she had for the boy into the kiss.

When the two broke apart both of their lips felt like lightning had just coursed through them (in a good way of course). Naruto could no longer resist grinning and a large foxy grin adorned his face.

"Do you believe me now?" Sakura asked with a soft smile on her face.

"Of course Sakura-chan!" Naruto chirped. "I'm sorry for doubting you."

"I'll forgive you this time Naruto, but don't let it happen again!" Sakura didn't even realize she gave Naruto a command, nor did Naruto. Because he wasn't disobeying the accidental command... he believed in Sakura's feelings.

"_You know as well as I do that your life now has a short timer on it before it expires."_ Sai's words rang through Naruto's mind once again. _That hasn't changed… I'm still going to die soon. Sakura and I… can't be together._

Sakura notice Naruto's expression drop into a frown, and looked into his eyes, her own filled with concern.

"What's wrong Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan… we still can't be together. I want to… I want to so bad… but I'm a guardian, my time left on this earth is very limited. I can't let you get your hopes up that I'm going to survive… I'm a guardian, I'm a sacrifice. I…"

"I don't care Naruto. I don't care what the odds are, I don't care what people say. I don't care if there's a 99.999% chance that you're going to die soon. We're going to defy that crap." Sakura said confidently interrupting her guardian's rambling.

"Sakura, you can say that but…"

"But nothing." Sakura wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and pulled him into a tight hug. "I will not let you die Naruto. I will never let anything take you away from me. Do you understand me?"

Sakura's words sent waves of warmth crashing through Naruto's body, and he couldn't help but believe her. He couldn't help but believe with the help of his stubborn, yet determined celesti, he would defy the fate of a guardian and survive. He would be with Sakura for the rest of her life.

"I understand Sakura… Thank you." The guardian whispered with the happiest smile he had ever smiled on his face.

Sakura pulled back and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Now see what happens when you tell me what's wrong? Not only do I make you feel better, but you get a couple kisses out of it too!"

"Hehe, I'll keep that in mind the next time I think about holding something back from you."

"Now there's just one more thing we need to talk about Naruto. We need to talk about what we are…"

"Umm… well you're a girl, and you're a celesti… and I'm a boy…" Naruto started in a completely confused tone.

"No not like…" Sakura sighed. "We need to define us."

"Define us?" Naruto still had no idea what Sakura was getting at.

_I should've known Naruto wouldn't pick up on anything, I don't even know why I bothered to beat around the bush…_

"We need to define what we are. Friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, that sort of thing." Sakura explained. "Earlier when I was at breakfast with Ino a man came up and asked me to have dinner with him tonight…"

Naruto was suddenly feeling very jealous. He wasn't sure who this man was, but Naruto found himself wishing that the man was after celesti so the guardian could have an excuse to kick his ass.

"I thanked him, but told him there was someone else. I was about to say that I had a boyfriend, but I realized we hadn't talked about that. In the future if that situation arises, I would like to be able to say that I have a boyfriend…" Sakura said with a blush as she looked into Naruto's eyes with an expectant look on her beautiful face.

Naruto's grin was so big it took up his entire face. "I would love to be your boyfriend Sakura-chan!"

Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and again kissed him. _I don't know why I was so nervous, I know how much he cares about me… _

"Good, we're officially a couple then." Sakura smiled.

Naruto smiled back at his charge and wrapped his arms around her. "Looks like Itachi was right…" He mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Sakura drew back looking at Naruto with a worried expression.

"What?" The guardian didn't realize he had said that out loud.

"You said looks like Itachi was right… what was he right about?"

"Oh that…" Naruto chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. _I'm not ready to tell her I love her yet… We haven't known each other long enough for that… _"Itachi just said that I really like you, and called us a couple."

"Itachi? THE Itachi. The Itachi who's betraying the Guardian Order and is trying to get me killed? That Itachi?" Sakura asked in an incredulous tone.

"Yes that Itachi… but now that he knows how important you are to me, and how good you treat me, he's not going to try to kill you anymore."

"Alright… just what the heck happened between you and Itachi?" _This does not sound like the Itachi that tricked me into activating Naruto's eri seal, the Itachi that tried to get Naruto to hate me so he would kill me, and the Itachi that the Guardian Council made out to be such an evil guy…_

"Well it turns out Itachi wasn't here to fight me, or to attack you. He was actually here to protect me while I recuperated. He keeps tabs on me and found out how bad of condition I was in after my fight with Tsunade, so he came and protected me… us. He protected us from a few attackers." Naruto explained.

"But that doesn't make sense. Why would he do that…"

"I guess you wouldn't understand with the side of Itachi that you've been presented… But Itachi… I know a different side of him. The side that makes him my brother. Until you, Itachi has been the only person who has ever helped me just to help me. The instructors at the academy only helped me so I would grow stronger and make a more powerful guardian. The few times that Danzo helped me resulted in me owing him favors. Even old man Hiruzen only helped me to ease his own guilt at stealing my childhood away."

"I'm so sorry Naruto…"

"It's ok Sakura-chan. I don't blame any of them for using me. But that's what drew me to Itachi. He genuinely cared about me; he genuinely wanted to help me. He was a true brother to me. And that's why he protected me, because our brotherly bonds still exist. He protected us because he was protecting his brother."

_Wow… I knew Naruto cared about Itachi… but I didn't realize their bond went so deep._

"So are we going to join Itachi then?" Sakura asked, hoping her favorite blonde didn't answer with a yes. _This is just what Danzo was worried about at the academy. That Itachi would meet with Naruto and convince him to betray the order… But my Naruto would never do that…_

"No." Naruto said sadly. "Even though Itachi and I are brothers… we are enemies. I let Itachi walk away this time, since he protected us and kept you safe. But I told him the next time we meet I wouldn't let him walk away."

Sakura pulled Naruto even closer to her. "I'm sorry Naruto; I know that must have been difficult for you."

"It actually wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be. The Guardian Order is set up to protect you. So when Itachi threatens the Order, he threatens you. That made my decision easy. I said it before, and I'll say it again, my loyalty lies with you Sakura. I will fight anything that threatens you."

Sakura smiled at her guardian. She felt so safe with him. She felt completely invincible knowing that Naruto was protecting her.

"And my loyalty lies with you. I'll fight anything that threatens you." Sakura replied with a smile. She knew she couldn't physically fight everything that threatened Naruto, but she would still fight anything that threatened his happiness.

* * *

"Let's get this meeting started. We need to take swift action." Danzo called out, looking at the other 12 members of the Guardian Council. _Damn that Sai… why would he send the details of Naruto's betrayal to the other members? This evidence is enough to where I could've had Naruto killed without facing serious repercussions once the other members found out…_

"Swift action is an overstatement. We don't want to do anything we'd regret Danzo." Hiruzen reasoned.

"You're right Hiruzen. We don't want to do anything we'd regret, like letting Naruto live. Itachi has planted the seeds of doubt in the boy's mind; it is only a matter of time until Naruto betrays us. He already betrayed us by letting Itachi go."

"From the information I have here, Itachi also protected Naruto and his charge. Also, Itachi is a very powerful opponent, if Naruto would've engaged Itachi he would not have escaped unscathed. We teach our guardians to avoid a fight whenever they can." Chiyo spoke up.

"Chiyo's right, and Naruto told Itachi that they're enemies and he wouldn't let him walk away the next time they met. Even though Itachi said he no longer wants to kill Sakura, Naruto still views him as a threat to her. We don't have to worry about Naruto joining Itachi, he already stated that his loyalty was with his charge." Hiruzen added.

"I remember the last time you used that argument Hiruzen… When Itachi was demanding to be Sasuke's guardian, I said we shouldn't allow it. We shouldn't allow him to embrace his family, as he might choose his family over the Order. But you said his loyalty to Sasuke would prevent him from ever betraying us, and look where we are now." Danzo retorted.

"Naruto is different from Itachi." Hiruzen shot back.

"Is he? Can you really say that with complete confidence? Are you confident enough that Naruto is different from Itachi that you'll risk the fate of the Guardian Order? Like Naruto, Itachi cared strongly for his charge, like Naruto, Itachi chose his charge over the Order. Itachi and Naruto consider themselves to be brothers; surely they can't be all that different?"

For once Hiruzen didn't know what to say. Danzo brought up good points. Hiruzen would never believe that Naruto could betray the Order, but he couldn't argue against the points that Danzo made.

"Exactly as I thought. Itachi is using his bond with Naruto to draw him to Itachi's side. We need to kill Naruto before he betrays us. Let's put this to a vote."

"All those in favor of killing Naruto?" Danzo asked. Including his own, six hands shot up into the air. _Damnit…_

"All those opposed?" Another 6 hands shot up into the air.

"Homura… why didn't you vote?" Danzo questioned the old man in the green glasses.

"Both you and Hiruzen raise good points. I can't decide whether or not Naruto is a threat to the order." Homura replied calmly. "He is very similar to Itachi, but he has yet to show any signs of betraying us at this point."

"He let Itachi walk away! Itachi! The biggest threat to our Order!" Danzo retorted incredulously.

"He let Itachi walk away because Itachi protected him, and to avoid a needless fight!" Hiruzen added.

"Exactly, I don't think letting Itachi walk away is a sign of betrayal Danzo. But his bond with Itachi could be trouble… I need time to think about this."

"We will take a short break and reconvene in 30 minutes then." Hiruzen announced.

Danzo calmly nodded his head, but on the inside he was seething. _That old fool, he usually agrees with me. But I have the support of nearly half the council. I'm not going to let these fools doom our Order._

Danzo walked out of the room and ducked into a currently empty classroom. Within a matter of seconds a mask-wearing root member appeared in front of him.

"Give Sai the order to kill Naruto, and that he is to fulfill this order as soon as possible." Danzo ordered.

The root member nodded and disappeared.

_Soon Naruto will be dead and we'll have one less threat to the Guardian Order…_

The bandaged man walked back into the meeting room and calmly took his seat.

* * *

"Sai let's go, I'm getting dinner with Naruto and Sakura!" Ino yelled from the other side of the bathroom door. Sai just remained motionless in the bathroom as he reread the scroll he had received from Danzo over and over.

_Kill Naruto as soon as possible. –D_

The pale guardian was actually surprised. As he reread his report to the council he decided that Naruto really wasn't committing treason by letting Itachi walk away, he was actually doing what he was trained to do… avoid a fight. Sai figured that with people like Hiruzen and Chiyo in the council, Naruto would be spared.

Yet here was an order from Danzo to kill Naruto. To kill one of the most powerful guardians in the entire Order. Just a day ago Sai would've gone through with this order without a second thought, but after being thanked by Naruto he was beginning to have second thoughts about the boy.

Danzo taught Sai to view Naruto as a weak failure because of his emotions, yet Naruto was probably the most powerful guardian still in the Order. Sure he was susceptible to genjutsus, but his raw power more than made up for his weakness. Naruto was actually happy until he had told the boy that his charge's feelings were fake. A happy guardian… It's such a strange thought.

The pale guardian unsealed a vial of poison that had been sealed in the scroll. _Danzo-sama knows I'm not strong enough to kill Naruto in an actual fight, so he sent me this poison… Why is it so imperative that I kill Naruto quickly… Why didn't Danzo-sama sign the order with his full name…_

Sai pocketed the vial of poison, destroyed Danzo's order and exited the bathroom to face his grumpy charge.

"Jeez Sai, what were you doing in there? I'm going to be late to meet Sakura and Naruto."

Hearing Naruto's name caused Sai to unintentionally wince. Ino, who viewed guardians as sacrificial lambs was actually referring to Naruto as if he was a real person. She probably wasn't going to be very happy with him when he poisons Naruto…

_But she doesn't need to be happy with me. All that matters is that I protect her until it's time for me to sacrifice myself. Guardians can't have emotions that make them unhappy, it makes them weak. But yet… Naruto is so strong…_

Sai followed his charge out of their room and into the street where they started walking towards their meeting place.

For the first time in his life, Sai found himself truly debating disobeying his orders. Danzo would be furious with him, but if he let Naruto live, then he could observe Naruto for a little while longer. He liked the idea of a guardian with emotions, of a guardian who was happy with their life.

_But Danzo-sama molded me into the powerful guardian I am today. He is wise… If the council has ordered Naruto's death then that must mean that he will betray the Order…_

Sai was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Ino casting a curious glance at him.

"Sai… earth to Sai!"

Sai's eyes snapped to attention as he focused on his charge.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"What's wrong? You seem troubled… And considering this is the first time I've ever seen you show any semblance of an emotion on your face, whatever is troubling you must be bad."

Sai blinked a couple of times in confusion. "You… care if there's something troubling me?"

"What? Jeez, I just want to know alright?" _Sakura reminded me today of who I used to be before I entered the celesti lifestyle… I like the me from back then a lot more than I like the me from now…_ Ino added mentally.

"Ah… I see. Well you're right, something is troubling me. But the information is confidential and can only be given out on a need to know basis."

"Come on! I'm trying to be nice and see what's wrong with you and you won't even tell me?" Ino whined.

"It would appear that way, wouldn't it." Sai answered with one of his trademark fake smiles.

Ino stomped ahead and Sai thought he heard some sort of grumbling about Sakura being an idiot, but he couldn't hear it quite clearly enough to confirm it.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were sitting with Tsunade in Jiraiya's room. After making up and finally becoming a couple, they decided to go check in on the older celesti and guardian pair since it had been a full day since they had checked in on them.

To their disappointment, Jiraiya was still unconscious, but Tsunade was in slightly better spirits. There was definitely something still wrong with her, but she wouldn't tell Naruto or Sakura. Still, she was smiling at least and the look of worry that had previously been implanted on her face when they first arrived in the hospital had seemed to have gone away.

"Tsunade, how did you learn how to heal people other than your guardian?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

"It's not really something I learned Sakura… it's more something I just knew how to do. The best piece of advice I can give you is understand how your powers work when they heal Naruto. Right now you're just pumping the healing chakra into him, and then on a subconscious level you control what it does to heal him. If you learn that on a conscious level that would help."

"How would I do that? I don't want to have to get Naruto hurt to learn how to heal other people!"

"You can do a body scan with your chakra correct? Scan his body whenever you two have free time and work to understand how each and every piece works."

"That reminds me… Now that you're feeling better, would you mind scanning my chakra Naruto?" Tsunade asked the whiskered guardian who had remained silent.

Naruto nodded his head and drew in nature chakra to enter sage mode. He closed his eyes and examined the flow of chakra in and around Tsunade's body.

"What the hell…" Naruto muttered. "Whatever Kabuto injected you with… it blocked off your body's access to your chakra pathway system… I've only seen something like this before at the academy. There was one trainee named Neji whose attacks shut down individual tenkutsus, but the tenkutsus…"

"Wait… what are tenkutsus?" Sakura interrupted.

"Tenkutsus are points where your chakra can be released throughout your body. There are 361 total, if a tenkutsu is closed, then an individual would not be able to use chakra in that area of his or her body."

Sakura nodded her head in understanding and motioned for her guardian to continue.

"So Neji's attacks shut down individual tenkutsus, but the tenkutsus eventually reopened on their own. Just the same way your body naturally heals when it is bruised. But this drug that Kabuto injected into Tsunade appears to completely shut down every tenkutsu in Tsunade's body, and her tenkutsus show no signs of recovering."

"So what you're saying is that I should not plan on accessing my chakra anytime soon?" Tsunade asked.

"Exactly. Once Jiraiya wakes up we'll head back to the academy. Maybe one of the researchers there can come up with a solution to this problem."

"I see…" Tsunade said. Her face and voice were completely impassive as she masked her disappointment at Naruto's assessment. "Well thanks for visiting you two, but you should go get something to eat. It's getting late!"

Sakura's eyes widened. "OH CRAP! Naruto we're eating dinner with Ino and Sai tonight. We're going to be late!"

Naruto chuckled at his charge. "Relax Sakura-chan, it's practically impossible to be late when you have the hirashin in your arsenal of moves." Still in sage mode, Naruto found Ino and Sai's chakra and wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist.

"See you Tsunade, let us know when Jiraiya wakes up."

"See you later kid." Tsunade replied with a small smile as she watched how he handled Sakura.

"I can't wait to get dinner with Ino, you two are going to love each other!" Sakura said with a grin.

Naruto smiled at her, and the two disappeared in a flash.

* * *

Dun dun dun! Sorry for the tease, but no Itachi and Naruto fight for now! That Danzo sure is a jerk isn't he? I mean... jeez man. Take a chill pill =P Anywho, review review review =) (if you feel like it that is)


	14. Sai's Decision

Chapter 14 is here! Hooray!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and/or favorited it or added it to their alerts.

A shout and thanks to everyone who reviewed the story since last time: DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles, cmcwiki, PostLifeSyndrome, melapoy, Kiari Ferrari, Darious Frost, happy everday life, Tea Unicorn, Claire Ride, saveme57, Echo Uchiha, xPaperheartsx, Konoha's Crimson Fox, Nutt Man 117

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**DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles: **I may or may have ended this chapter on another cliffy. My bad =/ Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well =)**  
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**cmcwiki: **LOL! That would be awesome. /e starts pondering how he could logically write in Danzo getting his cane shoved up his ass without it seeming to random**  
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**PostLifeSyndrome: **Lol! I don't know if he's so old that falling down because his cane broke would kill him! And he fought Sasuke in the manga without the use of his cane, so I don't really think he's really that dependent on it. It would still be quite humorous though =P**  
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**melapoy: **Hehe, I agree with the finally =) And Sai hasn't necessarily committed to disobeying Danzo yet, he's simply questioning Danzo. Which is a pretty big step for him.**  
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**Kiari Ferrari: **Ya, that's some weight off Naruto's back now that he doesn't have to worry about his brother killing his girlfriend! Emotions might be a little out of Sai's price range... I mean he does have INO as his charge. I don't see her being a low maintenance kind of girl =P And lol Danzo tripping on a life and falling off a cliff. That would be an epic fail which would be a great way for him to die! As for Jiraiya, I originally planned on having him wake up next chapter, but I wasn't able to get as much as I wanted to in this chapter. So if Jiraiya doesn't wake up next chapter, then he will the one after that. Glad you enjoyed the chapter and hope you can say the same for this one =)**  
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**Darious Frost: **Hah! You're not going to like Danzo much more this chapter either... I really am trying in this story to give Sakura Naruto's ability to change people for the better that he has in the manga since I've taken the determination that the Sakura character has an mixed it with Naruto's manga determination. So it's only natural that Ino tries to care a little more about her guardian. And remember, Sai believes that the council gave the order to kill Naruto. He knows they all received the information on Naruto's meeting with Itachi, so he assumes that Danzo wouldn't dare give an order like that without the council's consent. Anywho... I'm glad to read that you liked the chapter and I hope you enjoy this one too =)**  
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**happy everyday life: **Agreed! =)**  
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**Tea Unicorn: **Glad you liked the chapter! And this one focuses solely around the dinner with two minor pit stops. So read on for Sai's decision!**  
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**Claire Ride: **Well I'm honored that this story is your favorite =) I tried to get this chapter out a little quicker than a month this time!**  
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**saveme57: **I agree with everything you said! I'm happy you liked the chapter, hope you like this one too =)**  
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**Echo Uchiha: **=)**  
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** xPaperheartsx: **Hah! Now there's a way for him to go! Ulcers! That would be ironic. I hope you enjoy the dinner scene =)

**Konoha's Crimson Fox: **I can officially say there will be no Ino/Sai pairing. Sorry! She might get paired off later in the story.

**Nutt Man 117**: She does doesn't she? I was amused while I wrote the dinner, so I hope you enjoy this chapter =) Thank you!

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Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and I would use my wealthy influence to end the NFL lockout. I want football this fall!

Onwards to Chapter 14! Please do enjoy _Guardian_-Chapter 14: Sai's Decision

* * *

"So where do you think we should…" Ino was in the process of asking Sai when Naruto and Sakura suddenly appeared out of thin air directly in front of her.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Ino screeched in surprise.

Sakura smirked at her childhood friend. "Oh? Did we scare you or something Ino?"

Villagers were now staring at them after Ino's screech, but they moved along their way as Sai and Naruto motioned for them to move along.

Ino took a deep breath as she tried to push away the feeling of complete shock.

"That's one of Naruto's techniques Ino, you saw it earlier today." Sai explained. "He manipulates space and time itself to teleport anywhere."

"You!" Ino hissed as she pointed an accusatory finger at Naruto. "Why the hell did you have to go and do that?"

Naruto chuckled and flashed his fellow blonde an apologetic smile. "Ah I'm sorry, Sakura-chan and I just didn't want to be late. I had no idea the hirashin would freak you out so much since you already saw it earlier. If I would've known…"

"Then we would've flashed even closer to you. Your reaction was PRICELESS!" Sakura interrupted with a grin. "In fact Naruto, I think we should do that again!"

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Ino yelled. "With you two doing that I'll die of a heart attack before I can face my destiny!"

Everyone except for Ino started laughing at her comment.

"And you!" Ino turned towards her guardian. "As my guardian you're supposed to protect me! Where were you?"

"I was right here beside you?" Sai questioned. "I fail to see what I could've done to protect you seeing as how you were in no danger…"

Ino sighed. "Sai you're hopeless you know that?"

"I did not know that." Sai replied with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Let's just go get dinner." Ino grumbled.

_Dinner… _Sai thought as his hand fumbled with the vial of poison in his pocket. _I guess this is it Naruto…_

* * *

"After much deliberation… I've made my decision." Homura addressed the council, who had reconvened in the meeting hall. It had ended up taking Homura two hours to make his decision instead of the originally planned thirty minutes. Danzo suspected he took so much time because he very rarely has the power to make a decision.

"Now that Itachi isn't a threat to Sakura, there is definitely a possibility that Naruto will join him." Danzo smiled. _Perfect, the council will give the official order to kill Naruto and I won't have to lose anyone._

"But I don't think it's likely." Homura continued, wiping the smile from Danzo's face. "As we established earlier, Naruto letting Itachi go was a result of the training we gave him. He avoided an unnecessary fight with a powerful opponent."

"Itachi isn't just any powerful opponent!" Danzo spoke up. "He's a threat to the order and Naruto knows full well that he's one of the only ones in this order that has a chance at beating him."

"True, but his duty first is the safety of his charge. I officially cast my vote to opposing Naruto's execution. For those of you who voted for the boy's execution, I would caution you to remember why we brought Naruto out of the Academy early in the first place."

"You're dooming the entire order you know!" Danzo yelled in frustration.

"Maybe so, but this decision will help to save the world." Homura retorted. "Don't forget Danzo, Naruto's charge is special. She has the power within her to bring a great change to this world and combat the darkness that plagues it."

"Homura is right." Hiruzen added. "We brought Naruto out of the academy early because we needed to make sure that she was protected by our most powerful guardian. We can't afford to risk her death. Her safety is of vital importance to this entire world."

Danzo clenched his fist, but did not say another word. Instead he stood up and walked out of the room.

_Too bad for those idiots that Naruto is as good as dead. It's too bad that Homura voted in favor of keeping Naruto alive, now I have to lay all the blame on Sai and sacrifice him. He was such a useful tool… But his sacrifice will be worth it. Once Naruto is out of the picture, the order can focus on its only remaining threat… Itachi…_

* * *

Sakura, Ino, Naruto and Sai were sitting cross-legged on the floor at a small wooden table. Since none of them knew of any restaurants in the village, Ino asked a villager what he recommended, and he said that this restaurant had the best dumplings in the entire world.

The restaurant wasn't the largest building ever, nor was it the fanciest, but it was quaint and charming. The wooden walls had black outlines of trees drawn on them, and in the middle of the small restaurant was a moderately sized pond with koi swimming around in it.

The group had already placed their orders, and were engrossed in 'pleasant' conversation.

"So Naruto… what are your intentions with Sakura?" Ino asked with a grin.

"Huh? Protect her life with my own?" Naruto answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not as her guardian you baka! As her boyfriend!"

"Ino!" Sakura squeaked as a blush overtook her face.

"Umm… well the same thing? I don't see how me wanting to protect her would be any different if I was her guardian or boyfriend…"

"All guardians must be clueless." Ino sighed. "I mean… do you plan on marrying Sakura?"

Both Sakura and Naruto had been taking a sip of water, and both proceeded to spit the water out as they let out a startled gasp.

"Ino we've barely been a couple for an hour!" Sakura said.

"So? From what you told me it was love at first sight, right Naruto?" The blonde celesti shot Naruto a mischievous grin. Suddenly it dawned on Sakura what Ino was doing.

_This is revenge for us scaring the crap out of her earlier! She's getting revenge by embarrassing us!_

"Well I… umm…." Naruto stammered.

_Ok Sakura calm down. If I can get my emotions under control and stop being embarrassed by this talk, that will take all of Ino's power away. I can do this! Time to show Ino that I'm not the same easily embarrassed little 14 year-old girl anymore!_

"I want to spend the rest of my life with her…" Naruto continued stammering.

_Ok… this isn't embarrassing…Wait what?_

"Oh?" Ino questioned with a smile.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with Sakura, so I guess that means I'll propose to her one day." Naruto replied a bit more confidently this time.

Sakura stared at her boyfriend with a dumbfounded yet happy expression on her face.

"I see. And why should I let you marry my best friend?"

"I err… because I lo…really like her?" _I almost let love slip out there… I need to be more careful._

"I'm not sure if really liking her is enough. But you were about to say something else weren't you?"

Naruto's face now matched Sakura's hair as the curious eyes of his girlfriend studied him carefully.

"I uh… hehe." Naruto mumbled. _Crap… what should I do…Wait… I got it!_ Sapphire eyes lit up and a cocky grin appeared on the young guardian's whiskered face. "What about you? Why should I let you be my girlfriend's best friend?" _Perfect deflection!_

"Like you or she has a choice in the matter." Ino laughed. "Now back to what you were about to say…"

_Damnit! _Naruto began sweating nervously as his mind worked into overdrive to come up with a solution to his current predicament. Sakura watched her boyfriend sweat nervously and decided she had let Ino torture him enough.

"Oh let him be Ino. He'll say what he almost said when he's ready." Naruto looked at her like she was his savior, and she couldn't help but giggle at his expression.

Deciding she had embarrassed Naruto enough for surprising her earlier, Ino decided to turn her questions to her best friend.

"So Sakura… How many babies do you want to have with Naruto?"

Again, both Sakura and Naruto were taking a sip of water, and again they both spit the water out of their mouths with a surprised gasp.

"What? I haven't thought of that! We've barely been a couple for an hour!" Sakura reiterated.

"You said you fell in love with him when you first saw him…" Ino started causing both Sakura and Naruto to blush. "So surely you've thought of a future with him filled with little blonde and pink-haired babies."

"INO!" Sakura yelled. She opened her mouth again to yell some more before she realized again what Ino was doing. _Wait… she's still getting back at me for flashing in front of her with Naruto…_ The embarrassed look on Sakura's face was suddenly replaced by a grin.

"Maybe I've thought about it…" Sakura admitted causing Naruto to gasp and look at her with wide sapphire eyes. "But one thing I do know for sure… is that I got a boyfriend before you and I'm going to get married before you!"

"WHAT? Why you…" Ino growled.

Sakura started laughing at her best friend's irritated scowl while Naruto simply stared at the two women with sweat rolling down the back of his head.

"Wait a minute… You're just saying all that to stop me from getting even with you for startling me earlier!"

"That's right!" Sakura nodded. "So… want a truce?"

Ino sighed. "Fine… truce."

"If you don't mind, I have a question." Sai spoke up for the first time staring at Sakura.

"Sure Sai, go ahead and ask." Sakura replied.

"I can see that you and Naruto care for each other, but how are you preparing yourself for Naruto's death? Do you really expect that you two will grow old together?" Sai questioned with a genuine curiosity.

Sakura looked at Naruto with a soft smile. "I don't expect that the two of us will grow old together… I know the two of us are going to grow old together. I will not let anyone or anything take Naruto from me."

"You say that…" Sai started. "But surely you must know by now that guardian's just don't live that long. Eventually Naruto here is going to die while protecting you. Even though he's strong, he'll eventually get worn down, and he will eventually sacrifice himself to save you."

"I keep hearing that over and over. But I refuse to let that happen." Sakura replied with a determined look in her eyes. "I'll say it again… I'm not going to let anyone or anything take Naruto from me. I don't care if every other guardian that ever existed has sacrificed themselves to save their charge… If that's the case then I'll make sure that Naruto is the first guardian to survive."

"I see… you're very determined." Sai noted. _Perhaps this level of determination is necessary for a guardian to be happy…_ _Too bad I've been ordered to kill Naruto. All of that determination is going to go to waste…_

"Jeez Sai, don't be such a buzz kill." Ino sighed.

"Buzz kill?"

"A buzz kill Sai is someone who completely ruins a good mood. You're a buzz kill because here we are talking about Naruto and Sakura being together and you're trying to bring them down by talking about Naruto's death…" Ino explained.

"Ah, my apologies. I was simply curious. I didn't mean to ruin anything." Sai apologized.

"Don't worry about it Sai." Sakura replied with a smile.

Naruto on the other hand regarded Sai with a confused look. _This is nothing like the Sai I remember from the academy. He's actually being genuine right now… _

"What's going on with you?" Naruto questioned his pale guardian counterpart.

"Excuse me?"

"I said what's going on with you. Why are you so pleasant and genuine all of a sudden?"

"Naruto!"

"It's alright Sakura-san. I can understand why Naruto would be wary of my sudden behavior change. He and I weren't exactly the greatest of friends during our academy days. _Not that I had any friends…_ Sai added mentally.

"To answer your question Naruto, I'm this way because you and Sakura have intrigued me. I was trained that emotions only got in the way. Danzo-sama would've laughed at the idea of a guardian entering a romantic relationship with anyone, much less their charge. He would say that such a relationship will only make a guardian weak. Yet here you and Sakura are… You care about her and she cares about you. You both seem so happy… And neither of you seem weak. I suppose that I'm curious as to how a guardian and celesti can truly be happy like you two appear to be without endangering their duties…"

Naruto blinked at Sai. _Sai…wants to be happy? Jeez… this guy sure seems to have changed since the academy… _Sakura on the other hand had tightly clenched her fist and scowled at the mention of 'Danzo-sama.'

"That Danzo is nothing but an idiot and a jerk." Sakura growled. "You shouldn't listen to what he tells you, he's just a cruel old man."

"I'm sorry you feel that way about Danzo-sama, Sakura-san. But his teachings have molded me into a powerful guardian, so I would be cautious to completely write him off." Sai retorted.

"Ok ok, let's change the topic shall we?" Ino intervened as she watched her childhood friend's face take on an even angrier expression as Sai defended Danzo. Ino had personally never met the man, nor had Sai told her much about him, so she personally didn't have an opinion on him. But she agreed to have dinner with Sakura and her guardian tonight so she could have a happy conversation with her best friend and the man her best friend had fallen for. Not to listen to her best friend and guardian argue about some old man that Ino had never met.

Sakura grumbled but was calmed down when Naruto put his hand on her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her annoyed emerald eyes looked into calm sapphire ones and she instantly relaxed.

"Sure. So Sai, how long have you been a guardian?" Sakura questioned.

"Hmm? Just over a year now I guess." Sai replied.

"Is Ino your first charge?"

Sai blinked at Sakura. "Of course she is… I thought you said you told her the truth Naruto."

"Oh right…" Sakura muttered before Naruto could open his mouth. "I guess if guardians only have a life expectancy of one year or less, it probably isn't very likely that a guardian would have multiple charges."

"That is correct Sakura-san."

"God you guys are the worst at happy dinner conversations!" Ino complained. "All this talk about death… Let's not focus on something so depressing right now."

Sakura and Naruto nodded their heads in agreement and Sai simply remained silent as he looked at Naruto. _I'm sorry Ino, but I'm afraid you're going to be forced to witness Naruto's death before our dinner has ended._

"So Ino, what was Sakura like as a child? Do you know any embarrassing stories?"

Sakura shot her guardian a dark glare. "Don't even think about it Ino." Sakura hissed, her angry eyes never leaving Naruto. The spiky-haired guardian gulped slightly in fear.

"Oh Sakura? She was pretty timid, and had self-esteem issues as a child."

"Ino!"

"She absolutely hated her forehead, even got picked on for it."

"Shut up Ino!"

"But she had me looking out for her. I was always there to protect her, and I helped mold her into what you see today. So you're welcome!"

Naruto looked at Sakura with an amused smile. He wasn't happy to hear that she got picked on as a child, and certainly wasn't happy to hear that she used to have low self-esteem, but everything seemed to work out ok in the end for her, and her reaction to Ino's words was pretty funny.

"So any good stories?" Naruto pressed, deciding the potential for hilarious stories he could get out of his girlfriend's best friend was worth the risk of being killed by his angry girlfriend.

"Naruto…" Sakura growled.

"Oh well there was this one time when we were both 10, it was during the summer…"

"INO NO!" Sakura yelled with a horrified expression. "You are NOT going to tell my boyfriend THAT story."

"Oh relax Sakura, it was a long time ago." Ino replied casually.

"Ya Sakura-chan, nothing to worry about. I bet this story will help me to get to know you better!" Naruto chimed in.

"You know Naruto… if you were a good boyfriend you would see how uncomfortable I am with you hearing this story and would drop it." Sakura said in a warning tone as she cracked her knuckles to emphasize her hidden threat.

"I think I'm being a good boyfriend by pressing to hear the story. It shows how much more I want to…"

WHAM!

Naruto was interrupted by Sakura punching him in the back of the head.

"Ow Sakura-chan…" Naruto called from his new spot on the floor. "That was a little uncalled for…"

"I warned you baka!"

Ino broke out into laughter as she watched her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend. "I see your temper is as bad as always Sakura."

Sakura sighed and helped Naruto back to his seat, and then placed a glowing green hand on his head, healing the little damage she had done to the powerful boy.

"So about that story…" Naruto grinned.

"Let me put it this way Naruto…" Sakura growled. "If you hear that story I will punch it out of your memory right away."

Everyone at the table minus Sakura sweat-dropped at the pink-haired girls ultimatum.

"Well, I guess it's not really that great of a story anyways Naruto." Ino said nervously. She was lying of course. The story was one for the ages, but it wasn't worth Naruto getting killed over. In the short time that she had known the blonde-haired boy, she decided she approved. If Sakura could somehow keep him alive, Ino knew he would make her best friend very happy. So she didn't want to jeopardize the boy's life by telling him a story that drew his new girlfriend's wrath.

"That's right, it's not." Sakura agreed in an angry tone.

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure what exactly constitutes as an embarrassing story, but would it help at all if I told one of Naruto?" Sai asked. He couldn't be more confused. Sakura had seemed to be really angry at Naruto for trying to get Ino to tell the story, yet she still seemed to be happy. Even though the pink-haired girl threatened to bash his face in, both she and Naruto still had a small twitch of a smile underneath their respective expressions. Perhaps embarrassing stories were part of happiness.

"Oooh yes please!" Sakura cooed with a grin.

"WHAT? That's not fair!" Naruto whined.

"Oh well! Now tell the story Sai!"

"Ino stop him!" Naruto begged, hoping his new-found friend would show mercy on him after Sakura basically forced him to not hear her embarrassing story.

"And miss out on some good dirt on my best friend's boyfriend? Why the hell would I ever do that?" Ino asked with a smirk.

Naruto sighed and hung his head in defeat.

"Well Naruto was 8 years old, and entering his first official year of academy classes. He had been being trained for the past 5 years separately, but that was his first year of starting classes with actual classmates. Before entering classes he had been privately trained." Sai explained.

Naruto's head snapped up. He didn't remember any good memories from that first year in the classroom. Danzo had been around every corner to demean and demoralize him. Danzo personally made sure that Naruto's first year in the classroom was hell. Whatever 'embarrassing' story Sai had was not something he wanted Sakura to hear about if it came from that year…

"I had no embarrassing moments that year Sai, drop it." Naruto growled in warning.

"If my memory is correct, you actually had a lot of them." Sai replied cluelessly causing Ino and Sakura to giggle.

"Now anyways, Naruto here had been receiving private training since he was 3 years old, so he was naturally hailed as a prodigy and was considered to be the top of his class. All of this information went to Naruto's head that first year, and he walked into the classroom with a pretty big head. He boasted that he was so good that he would be teaching the classes."

Naruto clenched his fist. He had been so arrogant because he had been trying to get Danzo off his back. He hoped that if he acted like he was the best Danzo would start looking at him like he was the best as well and stop being so hard on him.

"So on the first day, in response to Naruto's bragging, the instructor had Naruto get up in front of the class to demonstrate his skills. The ever cocky Naruto demonstrated impressive taijutsu for an 8-yr old, and also showed some impressive ninjutsus as well. But then it came time for genjutsus…"

Now Naruto knew the exact memory Sai was talking about. Just the mere recollection of the memory brought anger boiling forward from his core.

"Danzo-sama realized how unwise it was to allow Naruto to get big-headed. So he made sure the instructor made Naruto show his genjutsu abilities. The instructor ordered Naruto to perform one of the most basic genjutsus that all of his classmates could easily perform, the bunshin no jutsu."

"Wait… that sounds like Naruto's kage-bunshin no jutsu." Sakura interrupted.

"Naruto's kage bunshin no jutsu is an advanced form of this technique. The difference between his technique and the bunshin no jutsu is that the clones summoned by the kage bunshin no jutsu are real copies, whereas clones summoned by the bunshin no jutsu are nothing more than illusions. I cannot stress enough how basic and easy the bunshin no jutsu is." Sai replied.

Naruto tried to take a calming breath. He could not let Sakura see how angry this memory was making him. He didn't want her to worry about some stupid memory that was locked away in the past.

"What happened next?" Ino asked.

"Well Naruto tried to do the bunshin no jutsu but produced the most grotesque and pathetic looking clone that has ever been seen in the academy. It was absolutely horrendous. The entire class laughed at him for his pathetic display. The top of the class wasn't as impressive as he had claimed to be."

Sakura noticed her boyfriend's clenched fist and instantly became alarmed. She had already started to get angry at the mention of Danzo messing with Naruto because of his lack of abilities with genjutsus. _This wasn't just an embarrassing memory for him…_

"But that's not all. Danzo-sama had cast a genjutsu on Naruto as soon as he woke up. This genjutsu made it appear as if Naruto were dressed in his academy jumpsuit. In reality Naruto was only wearing a pair of boxers. With all of the children laughing at Naruto's pathetic attempt at making a clone, Danzo-sama dispelled the genjutsu he had placed on Naruto at the beginning of the day, and the entire class saw Naruto standing in front of them in nothing more than his boxers. Danzo-sama then told the class that this is what happens when they don't try hard enough, they become weak and pathetic."

Blood starting falling from Naruto's hand as he clenched it so tight that he broke skin. Rage started flowing through Sakura's body as she listened to how Danzo degraded her boyfriend.

"He told them how useless Naruto was with genjutsus and that was why he would never amount to anything. He told them to use Naruto's story as a lesson to study each and every subject and make sure they are proficient with all forms of jutsu. And then Naruto started crying, which made the class start laughing more. And Danzo-sama…"

"SHUT UP!" Sakura roared in fury. She had heard quite enough. "How the hell could you have stood there while that Danzo asshole tortured a little boy like that?"

"Danzo-sama was merely keeping Naruto from having a big head Sakura-san." Sai explained calmly.

"THERE ARE PLENTY OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THAT WITHOUT COMPLETELY HUMULIATING A BOY IN FRONT OF HIS NEW CLASSMATES!" Sakura was absolutely furious. She was tempted to command Naruto to flash her to Danzo just so she could bash his skull in for hurting her guardian. She could tell by Naruto's expression that the memory Sai had just told was a scarring one for Naruto.

"Sakura… just drop it. It's in the past, there's nothing you can do about it. I'm fine now." Naruto said softly.

"Drop it? Here's a jackass who just stood there and let you get hurt and you want me to drop it?" Sakura asked incredulously. "What kind of person…"

"Sakura don't. You're directing your anger at someone who had no control over the situation…" Naruto said while grabbing her hand. The pink-haired girl calmed down but quickly snaked her arm around his waist and pulled him tightly against her; subconsciously hoping that if she squeezed him tightly enough against her that she could erase all the pain from his past.

"God Sai… You are the biggest buzz kill I've ever met. I don't know if I'm ever going to let you join on any sort of social situation again…" Ino mumbled as she ran a hand through her hair.

Sai was confused to say the least. He had thought an embarrassing story was one that humiliated someone. Naruto was definitely humiliated in his story. From what Sai had gathered, everyone else listening to the story was supposed to laugh at the person's embarrassment. The only person who might get angry is the person who the story was about. Yet his story had only infuriated the pink-haired celesti, and Naruto, who the story was about, was the calm one who calmed her down. Her scalding words also had him confused.

_She made it seem as if Danzo-sama were cruel… But he was actually just doing a favor to Naruto. He was deflating Naruto's ego at a young age. Was he wrong to do that?_

"I'm sorry." Sai apologized and Naruto was surprised to see that Sai actually meant it. "I did not mean to anger anyone. I was simply trying to tell an embarrassing story."

"It's alright Sai." Naruto replied with one his famous smiles. "That story is from the past. You didn't mean any harm by it, so don't worry about it."

_He actually smiled at me?_ Sai thought. _I just told a story about one of the most humiliating moments in his life and he smiled at me?_ Sai found himself to be completely intrigued by Naruto. He had seen Naruto's reaction when he had been telling the story, it obviously angered the blond. His palms were still bleeding slightly from where he clenched them so tightly in anger. Yet here Naruto was forgiving him.

_In one day Naruto not only thanked me… but he also forgave me? And he's truly smiling. How is he able to do that?_ Sai felt the vial of poison in his pocket against his thigh. It reminded him of the job the council had ordered him to do. The pale guardian suddenly felt very regretful that he was going to have to extinguish such an interesting life.

Further conversation was interrupted by the waiter bringing their food.

"Ooh these look delicious!" Ino exclaimed excitedly, grateful for something to shift the conversation away from the path it had been.

"Yes they do." Sakura agreed, now much calmer that her boyfriend's body was pressed tightly against her own.

"Itadakimasu" The four chorused in perfect unison before digging into their dumplings.

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama, we've found Tsunade and Jiraiya and I think you'll be quite pleased with our information." Kabuto said as he kneeled in front of the pale snake-like man.

"Oh? Do go on then."

Kabuto laid a map out in front of Orochimaru and pointed to a small village. "Naruto-kun has taken his charge, Tsunade and Jiraiya to this village. Jiraiya is still in a coma from Tsunade's attacks and my drug successfully blocked Tsunade's access to her chakra.

"This is good news indeed Kabuto." Orochimaru sneered.

"That's not all Orochimaru-sama, it would appear that another guardian and celesti pair are also currently staying in the village."

"So there are three celesti in this village with only two guardians to protect them?" Orochimaru questioned with a sick smile.

"Exactly. Shall I go and collect them?"

"No Kabuto. Naruto-kun's charge was a fascinating one… there are so many interesting things I could do with her power. And we have no idea how long the third celesti will be staying in the village. The Four are very close to that village, send them."

"Hai Orochimaru-sama."

* * *

Sakura, Naruto, Ino and Sai had finished their dumplings and had even finished the sweet dango they had ordered as a desert. The group had managed to get through the dinner while maintaining pleasant conversation, and Sai had managed to avoid further angering Sakura.

Now the pale guardian was feeling true regret. He had allowed Naruto to have his last dinner, and enjoy a little more time with his charge, but now Sai had to fulfill his order. He had to kill Naruto. Sai got the waiter's attention and ordered a bottle of sake.

"Sake? I don't really drink Sai." Sakura said as the waiter walked away. "Heck, I'm not even old enough to drink."

"You're a celesti. If you're old enough to be hunted down for having a destiny, you're old enough to drink some sake!" Ino butted in. "Live a little Sakura!"

"Ok… well maybe just one or two cups…"

"Don't worry Sakura! It tastes kinda caramelly when it's warmed up. I think you'll like it." Naruto stated.

"Exactly." Sai agreed. "Besides, I read in a book that after dinner it is customary to enjoy drinks with friends."

Ino groaned. "Oh god, please don't start talking about your books."

"Books?" Sakura asked.

"I like to read books that explain what to do in certain social situations…" Sai explained.

"It's ridiculous. He's a guardian and all he does when he's not protecting me is read some stupid book about what a person's smile means, or how a person shows affection to someone they care about…"

Sakura started laughing. "Really? That's great, I can't picture you Sai as someone who cares about that stuff!"

"I find it fascinating." Sai defended. The waiter arrived with the bottle of sake and Sai cast a genjutsu over the entire restaurant. Everyone in the restaurant saw Sai pour sake into the four small cups. But in actuality, Sai poured sake in the four cups, and then poured the vial of poison from Danzo into the cup nearest Naruto.

_This is it… I've observed Naruto as long as I possibly could. _Sai's hands were still hovering over the cups, preventing Sakura, Naruto or Ino from grabbing them. _Is this really the right thing? Do I really believe that Naruto would betray us and join Itachi? I know the council ordered me to kill him, but why do I have to do it… I really don't think he would betray the Guardian Order, he's too devoted to his charge._

Sai unconsciously moved his hand away from the cups as he continued to ponder his decision to obey his order. _This is wrong… I shouldn't kill one of the most interesting and powerful guardians in the entire order because there's a small chance that he'll betray us… When I know he won't. I may disappoint Danzo-sama, but I'm going to follow my own heart this time instead of following orders. Naruto has followed his heart and he has become quite powerful…_

Sai reached for Naruto's cup, intending to grab it and 'accidentally spill it.' His eyes widened in shock as his hand grasped thin air. He looked up just in team to see Naruto putting the small cup to his lips.

"Naruto no!" Sai yelled, but it was too late. The whiskered guardian had already swallowed the liquid. He looked at Sai strangely for his outburst, before his blue eyes clouded over. Sai could see the boy fight to stay conscious, but he knew that against one of Danzo's poisons, Naruto didn't stand a chance.

Sai briefly registered Sakura's panicked yelling of Naruto's name as he watched the young guardian flop forward completely unconscious.

_What did I do…_ Sai thought as a terrible feeling spread throughout his body.

* * *

Ack! Cliffhanger! What do you think of Sai? Hate him? Feel bad for him? Feel bad for him but want Sakura to beat the bloody hell out of him? Anywho... please do review if you don't mind =)


	15. Sai's Battle

Eep! Four months later I finally have an update. I made sure to sneakily write in the end scene of the last chapter as a refresher it's been so long, but feel free to go back and reread it if you're confused. This chapter is also extra long =) My apologies for the delay, let's get to this!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and/or favorited it or added it to their alerts.

A shout and thanks to everyone who reviewed the story since last time:sentimentalblue, DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles, Rini1Nara1,saveme57, Suna No Ken, xNINJABLADE45x, Darious Frost, Echo Uchiha, Tea Unicorn, Basher, holymarine, Nazgul of xord,AngelDemonSakura, melapoy, anonymous reviewer who didn't leave a name, WindreaWolf, Goddess of Night Eternal Faith, Nutt Man 117, Texascowgirl-13, mermaidangel123, reiga00, The true boxer sama, anonymous reviewer who didn't leave a name 2, love-mikan, ADHD-Kid2811

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**sentimentalblue:**Glad you enjoyed the chapter. And I hope Naruto survives! That would suck if he didn't right?

**DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles:**The biju do not have a place in this story except maybe as a random monster to kill if the story goes on long enough.

**Rini1Nara: **Mmmm pie...**  
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**saveme57: **Naruto does not have the Kyubi, and the chance of the Kyubi even showing up at all in this story is low, so poison can definitely kill poor Naruto =) And genin killed the Sound 4 in one on one battles, I'm sure they'd give experienced shinobi a challenge when fighting with a numbers advantage! About leaving this chapter on a cliff hanger... My bad.**  
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**Suna No Ken: **Glad your comp is working! Naruto is in fact the first child born from two guardians, but that will have no effect on his body other than him being a natural prodigy. Thus making Sakura ALL important when he gets hurt =) As for destinies, Naruto really doesn't have one being a guardian. The only way his destiny would be altered is with Sakura's help. On the subject of Itachi, he's a complicated character in the manga, and he shall be a complicated character in this story as well =) Glad you enjoyed the chapter!**  
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**xNINJABLADE45x: **Hehe, thanks =) And fair enough!**  
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**Darious Frost: **=) Glad you liked the chapter! And it was about time Sai developed a backbone =) And Danzo will get his eventually... hopefully. Although it might take a while...**  
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**Echo Uchiha: **=)**  
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**Tea Unicorn:** I echo your sentiments full-heartedly!**  
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** Basher: **Yea... Danzo isn't exactly that teacher all the kids are clamoring for =P I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far =)**  
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**holymarine: **Sai is definitely a victim of Danzo's teachings even though he doesn't know it!**  
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**Nazgul of xord: **Had to stick with the ninja world themes, they are just way too cool =)**  
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** AngelDemonSakura: **Inner Sakura will not make an appearance in this story, and we won't be seeing Sakura's destiny for QUITE some time (until the end of the story). As for her powers, she's unlocked all she is going to unlock until she faces her destiny. She'll master her healing power as the story goes on, and there will be another few ways where she can be awesome and do some fighting, but when we see Sakura's hidden power, we're going to see it in all of its awesome glory :D**  
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** melapoy: **I hope so!**  
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** anonymous reviewer who didn't leave a name: **Actually the reason his chakra control was so bad was because he had so much chakra (even without the Kyubi, Naruto has an enormous chakra pool). Why is he still bad with them in this story? The honest answer is because he needed a weakness. I've given Naruto a pretty big power boost in this story, but I still don't want him to be an all powerful god who smites evil with his pinky. That's what celestis are for =)**  
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** WindreaWolf: **Thanks! Glad you gave the story a shot, and I'm even more glad you're liking it! No worries, I won't be getting writers block =) I already have the end chapters written. We're quite the ways away from them, but I have a very clear path that this story is going to follow to its (what I think is) epic conclusion.**  
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** Goddess of Night Eternal Faith: **Oh you know that Orochimaru- he sees a celesti and he just HAS to experiment on them! As for Danzo... I hope he dies eventually too =)**  
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** Nutt Man 117: **Poor awkward Sai...**  
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**Texascowgirl-13: **Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far =)**  
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**mermaidangel123: **Thanks! Glad you're liking it! Enjoy this chapter =)**  
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**reiga00: **Poor Naruto indeed! 4 months later here's the next chapter!**  
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**The true boxer sama: **I literally laughed out loud when I read your comment! Unfortunately my new job does not allow me to update as quickly as I used to be able to. Although four months is ridiculous... It's been a crazy couple of months. Hopefully things are going to slow down so I can get back to updating at at least a semi-regular pace!**  
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**anonymous reviewer who didn't leave a name 2: **Glad you liked the chapter! I could not update soon, but I'm updating now! **  
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** love-mikan: **Glad you like the story! And I hope Sakura can fix Naruto!**  
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** ADHD-Kid2811: **Thanks for the kind words. And this chapter is an especially long chapter, so I wish you luck =P

* * *

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich, wouldn't have to work and wouldn't ever take 4+ months to add a new freaking chapter! Four months was a while! My last disclaimer was talking about the NFL lockout for Pete's sake, yeesh!

You've waited long enough. Onwards! Please do enjoy _Guardian_- Chapter 15: Sai's Battle

* * *

Sakura was having a blast tonight as she and her boyfriend ate dinner with Ino and her guardian. As Sakura expected, Naruto and Ino were getting along quite well. And she had to admit, even though Sai thought highly of Danzo, his genuine lack of knowledge on all social situations made him endearing in an odd sort of way. It didn't hurt Sai's cause either that Naruto seemed to have forgiven him.

Sai ordered a bottle of sake which made Sakura nervous. She had never drank sake before, she's too young! Things were going so well between her and Naruto that she didn't want her being drunk off sake to cause any problems.

"Sake? I don't drink sake Sai. Heck, I'm not even old enough to drink!"

"You're a celesti. If you're old enough to be hunted down for having a destiny, you're old enough to drink some sake!" Ino scoffed. "Live a little Sakura!"

Sakura had to admit, Ino had some good logic. She is obviously responsible enough to save the world, so she should be able to drink…And she had been curious about why so many adults loved the stuff so much…

"Ok… well maybe just one or two cups."

"Don't worry Sakura! It tastes kinda caramelly when it's warmed up. I think you'll like it." Naruto reassured, which made Sakura even more curious about the drink.

"Exactly." Sai added. "Besides, I read in a book that after dinner it is customary to enjoy drinks with friends."

_Read in a book?_ Sakura wondered.

"Oh god, please don't start talking about your books." Ino groaned.

"Books?" Sakura questioned.

"I like to read books that explain what to do in certain social situations…" Sai admitted.

"It's ridiculous. He's a guardian and all he does when he's not protecting me is read some stupid book about what a person's smile means, or how a person shows affection to someone they care about…"

Sakura couldn't help herself as she started laughing at the thought of socially clueless Sai reading books to explain everything to him. "Really? That's great, I can't picture you Sai as someone who cares about that stuff!"

"I find it fascinating." Sai defended.

The waiter arrived with the bottle of sake and as Sai started pouring the cups, Sakura's eyes flickered over to Naruto. She was happy to see a foxy grin plastered on his face. After everything that had happened with him and Itachi lately, Sakura was truly grateful he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Sai looked to be in thought as he pulled his hands away from the cups, which Naruto promptly distributed. Sakura stared at her cup and was suddenly feeling nervous about taking her first sip of alcohol. She decided to use Naruto as support and looked over to see how he was drinking the sake.

She watched as he put the tiny saucer up to his lips and tipped it back.

"Naruto no!" Sai suddenly yelled. Sakura gave Sai a quizzical look. She was about to question Sai when out of the corner of her eye she noticed Naruto's eyes start to glaze over. She turned toward her guardian just in time to see him flop forward completely unconscious.

"NARUTO!" She screamed loudly. Sakura was terrified as an overwhelming feeling of dread spread through her. She shook Naruto's body roughly hoping that his eyes would flutter open and he'd shoot her his grin and tell her he was ok. But deep down, Sakura knew that wasn't going to happen. She had a bad feeling about all of this.

"Sakura we don't have any time to waste." Sai spoke up. "You unlocked your healing abilities right? Naruto is poisoned, you need to heal him."

Sakura nodded her head and put glowing green hands against Naruto's body. But nothing was happening. It suddenly struck her, poison wasn't just any kind of wound… It wasn't something that could be fixed simply by mending tissue and bone back together.

"I don't know how…" Sakura whispered sadly as the realization dawned on her. Naruto desperately needed her and she was completely useless.

"Ok let's calm down everyone. Let's get him to the hospital then, I'm sure they can find an antidote to cure him." Ino said.

"They won't be able to find an antidote." Sai stated. "Danzo-sama is the only one with knowledge and access to antidotes for his poisons, and I don't even know which one of his poisons Naruto drank."

Sakura's head snapped up and her eyes were filled with a fiery anger at the mention of Danzo's name.

"What do you mean Danzo…" Sakura growled.

"Danzo-sama ordered me to kill Naruto and sent me an unmarked vial of poison to administer…" Sai was interrupted by Sakura's fist connecting with his jaw. He was surprised at the force of her punch as his feet left the ground. He landed roughly against the hard wood floor and instantly got to his feet.

"YOU POISONED HIM?" Sakura roared in anger. There were no logical thoughts going through her mind. Sakura launched herself at Sai, fully intending on literally beating the life out of the pale guardian. She didn't care that he was stronger than her; all she cared about was that he poisoned Naruto.

Sai dodged Sakura's second punch and flipped around behind her.

"Please wait Sakura. I was ordered to by authority of the Council, and I had decided that I wasn't going to do it after I poisoned Naruto's sake. That's why I tried to stop him."

"SAVE IT!" Sakura yelled. The killing intent that was pouring out of her body was absolutely terrifying. Sakura prepared to spring towards Sai again, but a pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around her body.

"Sakura calm down." Ino soothed. "Now isn't the time for this, you need to focus on saving Naruto."

Hearing Naruto's name reminded Sakura of the danger her boyfriend was currently in and she instantly dropped out of her shaky taijutsu stance and again concerned emerald eyes flickered over to the passed out guardian.

"Good Sakura… now think… Do you know anyone who can help?"

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Yes! Tsunade! We need to get Naruto to her, she's an expert medic. She can figure something out!" Ino let go of Sakura and the pink-haired girl started to walk over to Naruto, but Sai flickered in between them and picked Naruto up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sakura hissed.

"I'm stronger than both of you; we won't waste any time if I carry Naruto." Sai replied in an even tone.

"If you think I'm going to trust you…"

"Sakura, we don't have time to deal with this right now. We just need to get to this Tsunade lady." Ino interrupted.

"If you hurt him anymore Sai I will kill you." Sakura promised with a dark look in her eyes. Sai simply nodded in response.

Sakura sprinted out of the restaurant with Sai and Ino following close behind.

_Please Tsunade… Please be able to do something…_ Sakura mentally pleaded.

* * *

Four individuals were leaping through the air, hurrying towards the village their master had ordered them to go.

"Three celesti in one village and only two guardians to protect them? They must be real trash if they're stupid enough to stay in one place." The tallest of the four said. He was stout and had patches of orange hair.

"Those weak bastards must be fresh out of the academy, that's the only explanation for two guardians to do something so dumb." The only female of the group said. She was short, not even reaching five feet, and her red hair leaked out from underneath a black hat she kept strapped to her head with bandages.

"I just wish Orochimaru-sama allowed us to play with them, I think it would be fun to play a game with two stupid pieces of trash like those." The man with four arms added. His black hair was tied up in a ponytail.

"I'm just looking forward to sending more guardian trash to their deaths." The final member said. His light blue hair matched the blue lipstick he seemed to be fond of wearing. A head was attached to the back of his head, and if the casual observer looked close enough, they would see a face that was very much awake.

"Maybe if we get there quicker we can play with the guardians for a little longer." The four-armed man said.

"Orders are orders Kidomaru. We take out the guardians and capture their charges as quickly as possible." The tall man stated sternly.

"Who put you in charge Jirobo, you fatass?" The red-haired woman asked crassly.

"Tayuya I am not fat and women shouldn't talk like that." Jirobo lectured with an annoyed look on his face.

"When we get there, why don't you let me take care of everything guys?" The man with light-blue hair suddenly suggested. "I'm sure I can take a couple of idiot guardians out quickly, and I could use the fun."

"Shut the hell up Sakon!" Tayuya grumbled.

"Even if the game we're going to play with them is going to be short, I will not let you defeat all the players." Kidomaru added.

"Their chakra will be a delicious snack, don't think I'm letting you fight them alone." Jirobo chipped in.

"You don't need to eat anything more fatso." Tayuya mocked.

"Watch your mouth Tayuya!" Jirobo yelled angrily.

Despite their bickering, all four of them were focused on their task. Orochimaru wasn't a kind master. If they failed this task torture awaited them at best, but more likely death by Orochimaru's hand was waiting. They had to kill these two guardians as quickly as possible and take the celesti to Orochimaru.

The four continued speeding along, getting closer and closer to the village.

* * *

Tsunade sat in Jiraiya's room quietly pondering Naruto's words. Being an expert medic who had spent years healing guardians, Tsunade knew a lot about tenketsus. She could list off each and every sign of a tenketsu being over-exhausted, and could list each type of effect an overused tenketsu could have on a guardian.

She never would have dreamed it was possible to permanently close them though. She hated this. Her chakra was all there beneath the surface, just waiting to be used. She had more power than ever, she could easily heal the damage she had done to Jiraiya…if only she could access her chakra.

"Damn that Kabuto…" Tsunade growled quietly. If it weren't for him…

"Tsunade!" The frantic voice of Sakura suddenly yelled, breaking Tsunade out of her thoughts. Sakura along with a blonde girl roughly Sakura's age, and a pale and thin boy carrying Naruto burst through the door and into Jiraiya's room.

"Sakura?"

"Naruto's been poisoned and I can't heal him!" Sakura said in a panicked tone. Tsunade looked into the girl's eyes, they were not the confident eyes that Sakura had when she brazenly told Tsunade she would keep Naruto alive despite the odds. The emerald eyes she was looking into were only filled with despair and hopelessness. Tsunade's heart clenched at the sight. She had remembered seeing those same eyes…The night when she lost Dan. She stared hopelessly into a mirror for hours that night.

"What kind of poison?" Tsunade asked. She didn't have access to her chakra, but she still had her knowledge of poisons. Once she was told the type of poison she would be able to create an antidote…At least she hoped. She had been too scared to test her memories… She really couldn't be one-hundred percent sure of what she remembered. But she wouldn't let Sakura know that, this girl needed someone to put on a strong face.

"We don't know, he was poisoned by one of Danzo-sama's personal poisons. Only Danzo-sama knows the antidotes for his poisons." The pale what Tsunade assumed to be a guardian said.

"Shit." Tsunade swore under her breath. If she had access to her chakra she could just scan Naruto's body, figure out what the poison was doing and come up with a solution to counteract it. She absolutely hated the feeling of uselessness that was currently spreading through her body. All of that power…locked away and worthless.

She shook her head. She would not let herself dwell on this. The short time she had known Sakura and Naruto she had grown fond of the two, and both she and Jiraiya owed them their lives. Then there was the fact that Tsunade saw so much of herself in Sakura… Tsunade would do everything that she possibly could to shield Sakura from the pain of being able to do absolutely nothing as the one you love died in front of you.

"Sakura do a scan of Naruto's body and tell me what the poison is doing." Tsunade barked out, her eyes now filled with a determined flame.

Sakura shakily obeyed and started flicking a glowing green hand over Naruto's body.

"I can't find it! I can only scan Naruto's bones and organs! I can't focus in on his blood!" Sakura cried. Tears were gathering in her eyes, waiting to crash down to the earth below.

"Focus on _your_ chakra Sakura." Tsunade guided.

Sakura closed her eyes and focused on the chakra she was sending through Naruto's body.

"It's traveling through Naruto's blood, use your chakra to examine his blood."

Sakura's eyes snapped open in surprise. "I can…I can sense it!"

"Good now tell me what the poison is doing."

"It's… it's doing something to his blood cells, they're slowly changing color. It's also going after…I don't know what it's attacking. Maybe one of those tenketsus Naruto was talking about earlier? His chakra seems to be gathered there…"

"Shit!" Tsunade swore out loud. Danzo had really outdone himself with this poison. It was brutally efficient.

"Whatever poison Naruto has been poisoned with is slowly cutting off Naruto's blood cells access to oxygen, and it's going after his tenketsus to attack his chakra network."

"Will he be ok…" Sakura asked quietly. Tsunade could see that the young celesti was doing everything she could to keep it together.

"Not if we don't do anything. His body is going to start failing if his blood cells can't access his chakra system. His heart will stop, his nervous system will fail…"

"What do I do?" Sakura asked in her same quiet voice.

Tsunade racked her brain for an antidote… If she couldn't develop an antidote then Sakura would have to do this the hard way. And considering the girl still couldn't fully control her healing powers, it would be a long shot at best.

"Tell me what I need to do Tsunade!" Sakura yelled. A single tear escaped and leaked down her face. "PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

Tsunade swore. This was a very advanced poison, and there was absolutely no antidote she could think of. Naruto's life was now in Sakura's inexperienced hands.

"Sakura, what I'm going to tell you to do is one of the most advanced uses of a celesti's healing powers. It is extremely difficult, and it takes a lot of focus. But it's the only chance Naruto has of living."

Sakura's ears perked up. Only chance? So that meant if she failed…If she was too useless to do whatever Tsunade was about to tell her…Naruto would…Naruto…

"Sakura you're going to have to manually remove all of the poison from Naruto's body."

"WHAT? How the hell am I supposed to do that?" _Shit shit shit! I can't do that!_ Sakura panicked in her mind. _Naruto is going to die because of me…_

"You're going to use your healing chakra to isolate each drop of the poison in Naruto's body and extract it. You can put the poison in this." Tsunade slid an empty cup in front of Sakura.

Sakura's heart dropped. "But…but I can't even control my powers. How am I supposed to be able to do that?" Sakura asked with a completely dejected look on her face. The tears she had been fighting so hard to resist broke past her defenses and started streaming down her face.

"Sakura this is Naruto's only chance, you can do this. You have to do this." Tsunade explained calmly.

"NO I CAN'T! I'M TOO DAMN USELESS!" Sakura yelled as the tears came out like waterfalls. "Naruto is going to die because…"

_**SLAP!**_

Sakura was cut off by a rough slap. Her wide emerald eyes met the angry blue eyes of her best childhood friend.

"What the hell Sakura? Where did that confident girl who was going to keep her guardian alive no matter what go? Where the hell did the Sakura whose determination made me strive to treat guardians better go? Where the hell did the Sakura who I was damn proud to call my best friend go?" Ino yelled.

"I…I…Ino I can't…"

"This is no time to be feeling sorry for yourself! You told me that no matter the odds you were not going to lose Naruto. NOW PROVE IT!"

Sakura's tears stopped as she took in Ino's scolding. Ino was right. Naruto needed her right now and she was going to be there for him. She told him she would let nothing take him from her and she meant it. No matter the damage done to his body, she would heal it.

Sakura took a deep breath and let out a calm sigh.

"Tsunade, please tell me what to do." Sakura said as she "calmly" stared at Naruto's prone body with determined eyes.

Tsunade smiled softly at the girl. These were the eyes that Sakura had when she first told Tsunade she would keep Naruto alive. These were the eyes that had shaken Tsunade's view on guardians. These were the eyes that made Tsunade believe that just maybe Sakura and Naruto could defy the fate of all guardians.

"Remember how you found the poison? Repeat that process, except now when you've found a drop of the poison, you need to surround it with your chakra and then guide your chakra containing the poison out of Naruto's body, then drop the poison into the cup and repeat. It's going to take a while, but it's the only option we have."

Sakura nodded her head. She had no idea how to manipulate her chakra like Tsunade was directing, but she would figure it out. Failure was not an option. Naruto's life was in her hands and she would not let it slip away.

Sakura focused and scanned Naruto's blood until she came across a drop of the poison. She tried to manipulate her chakra, but nothing was happening. Sakura smothered the feeling of panic that rose in her. Panic wouldn't help her right now.

_Please let me do this… Please…_ Sakura begged. As if her powers heard her plea, her chakra suddenly surrounded the poison. Her eyes lit up in surprise. _Ok…now to figure out how to move this out of Naruto's body…_ Sakura tried to move her chakra encasing the poison, but found as soon as she started to move her chakra, the poison didn't move with it.

_Come on body…Just do this for me!_ Again, it was as if Sakura's powers were listening to her. A tighter layer of her chakra surrounded the poison and she was slowly able to guide the chakra out of Naruto's body and drop it into the cup.

"You did it!" Tsunade gasped. "Good job!" While Tsunade was rooting for Sakura, this was a very difficult procedure and she truthfully didn't believe Sakura would be able to complete it. Much less figure it out so quickly. Sakura really had a lot of potential.

Sakura didn't even acknowledge Tsunade's praise. She was too focused. She scanned Naruto's blood and found another drop of poison and started to repeat the process. Tsunade was right when she said this would take a while, but Sakura didn't care. She would remove this damn poison from Naruto's body drop by drop to save him.

Sai watched the pink-haired girl in amazement. Naruto and Sakura's bond fascinated him with how strong it was. Sakura had gotten so angry when he told her the story of Naruto's tormenting as a child, and then when she found out that Sai was the one who poisoned Naruto she had come at him with the intent the kill.

She clearly knew he was stronger than her, yet she was so enraged by the damage Sai had done to Naruto that she attacked him anyways. And now she was drawing on the power of that same bond to perform something absolutely extraordinary. Danzo's poisons were the deadliest in the world, yet this girl was slowly saving Naruto from one of them, drop by drop.

Their bond truly was a fascinating thing. Sai truly hoped Naruto survived so he could continue studying the bond. Could Naruto draw strength from the bond as Sakura did?

Sai's musings of Naruto and Sakura's bond was quickly interrupted as he felt four warped chakras near the village.

"Orochimaru…" Sai whispered. Danzo was well-informed on Orochimaru, his experiments and his army. By the feel of these chakras, this was "The Four" that Orochimaru had created six months ago. They definitely had the curse seal which would make them difficult opponents when facing all at once. Sai could only guess that they were here because Orochimaru got wind that three celesti were in the same village. And now he was the only guardian left to protect all three.

_Don't worry Naruto, I'll protect your charge and mine._ Sai mentally assured the unconscious blonde as he stood up.

"Don't think you're going anywhere Sai." Ino stated coldly. She was obviously not very happy with his attempt to poison Naruto.

"I have to. You three are currently in danger. I owe it to Naruto to protect all of you." Sai replied as he flashed Ino a smile. Ino noticed straight away that there was something different about this smile. It was…genuine.

"Sakura, I'm sorry for hurting you and Naruto, it was not my intention. Ino, thanks for trying to treat me better. I appreciated it, and I was looking forward to seeing if we could perhaps somehow form a bond."

"You're talking like you're not coming back." Tsunade noted.

Sai turned to Tsunade and smiled. "I don't plan on it. Thank you for offering Sakura guidance to help her save Naruto. I will die much more relieved now that I know Naruto will survive."

"Sai wait!" Ino said now with slightly worried eyes. "You don't mean it do you? You'll come back right?"

"There are currently four individuals with curse seals on their way to this village. I'm stronger than each of them individually, but combined they will be too much to handle."

"So you're just going to give up and sacrifice yourself?"

"Give up? A day ago I might have. But not now. I'm going to try everything I can before I use my ultimate technique. I just don't think I can stop them without using it. But we shall see won't we? Goodbye Ino."

Sai opened the window, drew an ink bird and flew off out of the village. Ino watched her guardian go, and she just knew that this would be the last time she saw him.

"Goodbye Sai…" Ino whispered.

* * *

Sai quickly flew towards the chakra signatures he sensed. Danzo had a lot of information on The Four. Sai knew all of their abilities, their strengths and their weaknesses. But all this knowledge didn't help much when he was outnumbered four to one.

Sai hoped they were foolish enough to try fighting him first without their curse seals. For some reason, a lot of Orochimaru's soldiers start a fight without activating their curse seals. If these four did that, then Sai could quickly kill one or two of them and win this battle without having to use his ultimate technique.

As he got closer and closer to the four who were sent to likely capture the three celesti in the village, he reflected on Ino's reaction to his likely pending sacrifice. She had actually been worried about him, and she even appeared to be slightly sad.

It filled his body with a strange feeling…a warm feeling. Sai had no idea what to call that feeling, but it made him hope that he could end this battle without sacrificing himself. He wanted to find out more about it. He wanted to find out more about this Ino who seemed to be concerned for him.

Finally on the horizon Sai spotted them. As he expected, it was Orochimaru's famous "Four." He had given each of them the curse seal six months ago and put them together in one squad. They quickly mastered the curse seal and were able to go into their curse seal level two forms.

In the short six months since they had been a team, they had gained a reputation of being powerful and slightly sadistic. Sai had lost count a long time ago of how many reports Danzo had received detailing a massacre by those four.

Sai withdrew his tanto and flew behind them. If he could take one of them out with a surprise attack before the battle even started, things would be easier. Now behind them, Sai had his bird swoop down, like a raptor swooping in for the kill.

His target was the four-armed man; Kidomaru if Sai's memory served correctly. If Sai got caught by Kidomaru's web the entire battle would be over in a matter of seconds.

As Sai neared his prey, the big guy, Jirobu suddenly tore out a medium sized chunk of earth and threw it at Sai, disrupting his deadly flight path.

"So one of the rats is coming to us?" The woman Sai assumed must be Tayuya taunted as he landed on the ground. His sneak attack failed, he now had to rely on the Four's pension for underestimating their opponents and killing one or two quickly before they realized how strong he was.

"An interesting move. You must be a minor character if you're coming out here to sacrifice yourself like this." Kidomaru noted with a smirk.

Sai tensed his muscles, preparing to use his deceptive speed to get behind and decapitate Kidomaru, but he froze when all four of his opponents activated their curse seal and entered their demonic looking curse seal level two forms.

"You're not holding back I see." Sai noted with a fake smile. "I suppose I won't either then." Sai whipped out a scroll and quickly drew ten samurai warriors with long daichi blades. He instantly brought them to life.

"Hey you might not be as bad as we thought; I think we're going to have fun killing an idiotic piece of trash like you." The final man that Sai assumed was Sakon say with a cruel smile on his face.

With his ten ink samurai on his side, Sai began the battle and flickered into battle.

* * *

"Umm… is he supposed to be waking up yet?" A voice called out. Naruto's mind was hazy as he tried to identify the voice. But his body was in too much pain to really focus.

"No, Sakura you need to knock him out. He's going to be in too much pain right now."

"Sa…kura?" Naruto croaked. He opened his eyes, but his vision was blurry making it nearly impossible for him to make anything out. All that he knew was that his entire body hurt, but his chest hurt the most.

"Go back to sleep Naruto." Sakura's soothing voice gently ordered. "Everything's going to be ok; just go back to sleep for me while I make you better."

Naruto wanted to obey Sakura's soothing voice, but he was in too much pain to go to sleep.

"Can I knock him out with my chakra somehow Tsunade?"

"Unfortunately not. But you need to get him back to sleep quickly. We need him to get back to sleep so you can focus solely on extracting the poison.

_Poison?_ Naruto wondered.

Suddenly Naruto felt a gentle massage on his temples.

"Relax and go to sleep Naruto." Sakura whispered into his ear. "I know it must hurt right now, so go back to sleep. When you wake up next I promise you'll feel much better."

Naruto focused on the soothing sensation of his girlfriend's massage and closed his eyes again.

"Good Naruto." Sakura cooed softly.

Slowly but surely, the sweet embrace of sweep took Naruto away from the pain in his chest. He knew that when he woke up next everything would be better, because Sakura said so.

* * *

Sai dodged a punch from Jirobo. He went to launch a counter attack, but his field of vision started getting blurry and his hand looked to be melting.

Sai swore, he severely underestimated Tayuya's genjutsu abilty. He pricked himself to break out of her genjutsu and came out of it just in time to dodge one of Kidomaru's arrows. Luckily the four-armed man wasn't shooting his webs at him, only those deadly arrows.

Sai noted from the corner of his eye that one of his ink samurai sliced Sakon clear in half. He had sent all 10 of his ink samurai at Sakon to start their battle in hopes of overwhelming Sakon with them. According to Danzo's intelligence, Sakon was the most powerful of The Four. Sai wished could say that slicing Sakon in half was enough to defeat him, but Danzo's intelligence on Sakon told Sai that all his ink Samurai had managed to do was simply add another opponent to the battle.

He grimaced at the thought, but quickly turned his attention to Tayuya. Her flute was what made her such a big of a threat. She used it to catch her opponents in powerful genjutsus. He needed to take her out immediately.

An earth dome started to rise around Sai and he quickly substituted himself with a rock just before the dome could seal him in. He easily recognized the earth dome as one of Jirobo's more deadly jutsus.

Sai quickly drew four ink tigers and sent them after Tayuya. He flickered behind Kidomaru intending to kill the four-armed man while his ink tigers distracted Tayuya, but Kidomaru weaved to the right to dodge Sai's attack. He turned around and punched Sai straight in the face causing the pale artist to skid across the ground.

Sai rolled to his left to dodge Jirobo's powerful fist and sprang upwards taking a swipe at Jirobo with his tanto. The giant demonic-looking man jumped backwards, but not before the tip of Sai's tanto scratched across the top of his chest.

Sai drew three ink tigers and sent them after Jirobo to press his advantage. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Sakon and his brother who Sai knew to be Ukon had defeated all but three of his ink samurai. That meant they would be rejoining the main fight soon. Sai had to kill one of these three before Sakon and Ukon joined if he wanted to have any hope of walking out of this fight alive.

He drew several more ink tigers and sent them after Kidomaru. His world was distorted as Tayuya again trapped him in another genjutsu. Sai wasted no time in pricking himself to break out of the genjutsu and flickered behind Tayuya.

He stabbed his tanto hoping to impale Tayuya quickly, but the flautist dodged and launched a powerful elbow towards his face. Sai ducked under Tayuya's elbow and launched a quick counter punch into her stomach.

The demonic-looking woman doubled over as Sai's fist knocked the air out of her, but before Sai could follow up his attack and finish Tayuya off, Kidomaru fired an arrow at him, forcing Sai to leap backwards to dodge.

He glanced over at Sakon and Ukon, they were down to only one ink samurai. Sai knew he only had a minute left at best to get a kill and change the course of this fight. In desperation he withdrew his scroll and started drawing an army of ink tigers while dodging arrow after arrow from Kidomaru.

He unleashed is tiger army on his three opponents, hoping that they would somehow be able to overwhelm and kill at least one of his opponents. But Sai knew that it wasn't likely to happen.

He joined his tigers in battle and focused his efforts on Tayuya. The combined attack of Sai's tigers and his precise tanto swipes was starting to overwhelm her. Tayuya delivered a powerful punch to one of Sai's tigers, causing it dissipate into a pool of ink, but she left herself completely open.

Seeing his opportunity, Sai stabbed his tanto forward intending on stabbing clean through Tayuya's heart. Before his tanto could reach his target, a powerful fist connected with his jaw and sent him flying backwards.

He swore as he looked at the owner of the fist- Sakon. He twisted his body and dug his feet into the ground, skidding to a stop. His jaw ached from Sakon's blow.

Sai's eyes scanned the area for Ukon, he knew of Ukon's preferred assassination method, and Sai did not like his chances of surviving this fight if he let Ukon merge with his body. He panted heavily as his eyes finally landed on Ukon.

He was relieved that Ukon didn't appear to be trying to merge into his body, but realistically he knew it didn't make much of a difference. Sai was now outnumbered five to one, and all five of his opponents were in their demonic-looking curse seal level two forms. He knew that he was not going to be winning this battle. But he wasn't going to lose it either. He had three celesti to protect.

Still, even though Sai knew the eventual outcome of the battle, he knew that if Naruto were in his situation the blonde guardian wouldn't give up. Sai would hold off using his ultimate technique for as long as he possibly could and hoped for some sort of miracle that would get him out of this battle alive.

* * *

Sakura was panting heavily with a large smile on her face. She had removed the last drop of poison from Naruto's body five minutes ago. The cup that she had dropped the poison into was empty and Sakura now had a vial of extremely potent poison at her disposal should an enemy come after them while Naruto was still recovering.

"How soon will he wake up?" Ino asked anxiously. She had only known Naruto for a short time, but seeing how much her best friend cared about him, Ino had been extremely worried for him. But Sakura had been absolutely amazing. Watching Sakura work made Ino have complete faith in her friend that she would somehow manage to keep Naruto alive despite his fate as a guardian.

"Who knows? Could be in a few minutes, could be in a day." Tsunade answered.

As if on some sort of cue, Naruto's sapphire eyes slowly opened to the sight of Sakura's beautiful smile. Memories of the last time he woke up flooded into his mind and he smiled back at his girlfriend.

"You were right Sakura, I feel much better."

Sakura grinned down at Naruto and leaned down and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I guess saving me took a lot out of you." Naruto noted as his girlfriend continued panting heavily.

"It was difficult, but I knew I couldn't fail, not when you were in danger." Sakura replied. "I'm so glad you're ok now."

Naruto felt some sort of moisture dripping onto his body and smiled softly at his girlfriend. Tears were slowly leaking out of Sakura's eyes.

"Hey, I'm fine now... thanks to you."

"I know." Sakura sniffled. She felt like an idiot for crying. She knew Naruto was ok now, she personally saw to it. Still… the overwhelming relief that flowed through her body when she saw those beautiful sapphire eyes again… She couldn't help but cry. She was just so happy and relieved that Naruto was still alive.

Naruto finally wrapped returned Sakura's embrace and pulled her tightly against him as tears continued to leak out of her pretty eyes.

* * *

Sai was panting heavily and blood was leaking from his mouth. As he expected, five opponents in their second stage curse seal form were simply too much for him.

"Finally slowing down eh?" Sakon taunted. It was the first time anyone had spoke since the battle began. The "Four," who were known for being overly cocky and mocking their opponents in battle, had been completely focused on defeating Sai. He assumed they were so focused out of fear of Orochimaru's wrath should they fail.

"You four… well five I suppose actually. You five are strong." Sai noted with a fake smile on his face. "You've done well to force me to a draw. Be proud."

"Draw? I think this piece of trash is confused guys." Tayuya laughed.

"Minor characters like him always seem to think they're more important than they really are." Kidomaru explained with a cruel smile. "They rarely seem to understand that as a minor character all they're good for is a few minutes of entertainment until they inevitably die."

Sai's fake smile actually transformed into a real smile at Kidomaru's words.

"When you say it like that… Maybe I am one of these minor characters you speak of." Sai grabbed a bottle of ink from his belt and uncorked it.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?" Tayuya yelled as Sai brought the bottle of ink to his lips.

Sai smiled at her and drank the entire bottle of ink.

"What the fuck!"

"Tayuya I've already told you to watch your language!" Jirobo scolded.

"To answer your question…" Sai started as his pale skin slowly became jet black. "I'm ending our battle now."

* * *

Naruto kept Sakura in his embrace for about ten minutes while tears trickled out of her eyes. As time progressed, her tears slowed down, and now they had finally come to a halt. Sakura smiled at him before breaking their embrace, and blushing slightly when she realized that both Ino and Tsunade were watching her and Naruto with a knowing smile.

Naruto was a little embarrassed by the sudden realization as well, but he had other things to worry about right now than being embarrassed. He still didn't know what exactly happened…

"So I heard that I was poisoned?" Naruto asked, generally curious on what happened. One second he was having a pleasant dinner with Sakura, her best friend and a boy who hadn't exactly been his best friend when he was growing up, and the next his body hurt and he was passing out.

"Sai received an order from Danzo to kill you by the authority of the council; so he poisoned your cup of sake." Ino explained with a twinge of sadness in her voice.

"What? The council wants me dead? Why?" Naruto gasped.

"Who knows." Sakura muttered. "But don't worry about that right now. Just focus on getting better."

"I feel fine." Naruto lied. His body was strangely sore and his chakra felt slightly out of whack.

"I doubt it." Tsunade snorted. "That poison Danzo had Sai use on you was pretty nasty. Even with Sakura's healing ability, your body will be recovering from that for a couple of days."

"I'm fine." Naruto reiterated. "So where's Sai? He's pretty strong, so if he really wanted me dead, I don't really think there's anything you three could have done to keep him from killing me."

"He changed his mind and tried to stop you from drinking the poisoned sake. He's the one who carried you here because he wanted to save you." Ino answered. "But while Sakura was healing you he said he felt the chakra of enemies and went off to fight them."

Naruto noticed that sadness filled Ino's voice and suddenly had a bad feeling. Naruto had been starting to come around to Sai. The pale boy wasn't really that bad when he wasn't being used as Danzo's personal puppet.

"I'm not surprised, three celesti in one place? Enemies were bound to show up." Naruto muttered. He gathered nature chakra into his body and entered sage mode. It was much more difficult than normal to maintain the perfect balance of his chakra and nature chakra. The poison apparently messed with his chakra, because his chakra levels were flickering…But he was still able to maintain sage mode despite the fluctuations in his chakra.

Naruto's toad-like eyes shot open as he found Sai. The pale guardian was up against five opponents whose chakras were twisted. Their chakras were similar to the chakras of Orochimaru's guards at his base. Sai's opponents were using the curse seal, and they were strong.

Naruto swore. He felt no resentment towards Sai for poisoning him. The pale guardian was currently fighting against five powerful opponents to protect Naruto's charge and his current adopted charge as well. Sai could have taken Ino and run and left an unprotected Sakura and Tsunade to deal with those five chakra signatures Naruto felt. He clenched his fist. Sai might have started the fight alone, but Naruto wouldn't let him finish it alone.

He focused on Sai's chakra signature.

"Thanks for healing me Sakura-chan, I'll be back."

"WHAT? Hell no! You are going to…" Sakura started. Before she could finish her sentence Naruto disappeared in a flash.

* * *

"Who said you were allowed to end our battle?" Ukon yelled angrily. "We will decide when this battle is going to end."

"Although Orochimaru-sama wanted those celesti as soon as possible, so we probably should end this battle now." Sakon admitted.

"Alright you little piece of trash, if you're so desperate to die, then we'll kill you." Jirobo called out with a grin.

"Oh you all seem to have misinterpreted the meaning behind my words." Sai said with a fake smile on his face. All of his skin was now pitch black. "None of you will be killing me today. I will be killing all of you, and taking my own life in the process."

"LIKE HELL!" Tayuya snorted angrily. "Just because your skin suddenly turned black doesn't mean you can…"

Tayuya was interrupted as ink snakes suddenly appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves around her.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Tayuya yelled angrily. Sakon moved to get the snakes off Tayuya, but ink snakes appeared out of thin air and restrained him, just like they were Tayuya. One by one the same thing happened to each of "The Four."

"When I drank my ink, I merged it with my own blood and chakra. This merge eliminates the need to draw each of my creations. I can create them out of thin air with a mere thought wherever I want. The only problem is the ink is poisonous when ingested. Merging it with my blood and chakra basically puts a death sentence on me. Once I merge the ink with myself, my body can only handle the strain for five minutes, then it shuts down and I die."

"YOU ASSHOLE LET US GO!" Tayuya yelled angrily.

"Sorry, but you're a threat to my charge, and the charge of one of my friends." Sai replied. He slowly walked toward his demonic-looking opponents, but froze when he heard a familiar sound.

"I'm glad you're alive." Sai said simply. "I'm sorry for what I did. Not just tonight, but during our days at the academy."

"I forgive you…I take it this is your sacrificial technique?" Naruto asked as he noted the dark black skin of the usually pale guardian.

"That is correct."

"I'm sorry I was late." Naruto apologized with regret present in his face.

Sai turned around and flashed the guardian who had intrigued him so much over the past day a genuine smile.

"It wasn't your fault. I don't mind. Now you might want to get out of here, the final part of this technique is a large explosion. Tell Ino goodbye for me."

"Wait… Before you do this, can you tell me why the Council wanted me dead?"

"I sent them a report of your encounter with Itachi. They believed you would join him and deemed you a threat to the Order. It's stupid now that I think about it."

"I see… Thank you Sai."

Sai smiled. There it was again. A thank you. He was just as surprised as the first time when Naruto thanked him.

"You're welcome Naruto. Good luck with everything. I truly hope you can defy our fate as a guardian."

Naruto smiled sadly at the guardian who he had hated so much in the past.

"Goodbye Sai."

Sai watched as Naruto disappeared in a flash. He turned his attention back to his five opponents who were struggling against the ink snakes restraining him.

"Time to end this." Sai called out cheerfully.

"FUCKING LET US GO YOU PIECE OF TRASH!" Tayuya yelled out angrily.

Sai's trademark fake smile was plastered on his face. He held a little apprehension at what he was about to do, but no fear.

"I can't do that. I have to make sure to take all of you with me, so I suppose it's time for me to show you the most powerful move with my ink merge technique."

"Most powerful move?" Kidomaru asked in a slightly fearful tone.

Sai's only answer was to form cross sign with his hands.

"Inkuirisu," Sai calmly called out. "Inku no Bakhatsu."

* * *

Sakura was so mad right now! Naruto was in no condition to go off fighting and he knew it! She was going to lay into him when he got back…

She looked up when she heard the familiar sound of the hirashin.

"Naruto…" Sakura growled, but all of her anger left her body when she saw the look of sorrow on Naruto's face. She watched him turn and look out the window.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of a large explosion rocketed through the area and Sakura saw a large black cloud in the distance where Naruto was staring.

"That was Sai wasn't it?" Ino asked quietly.

Naruto turned to Ino. "Sai says goodbye."

* * *

Jutsu list:

Inkuririsu: Inku no bakahatsu - Ink Release- Ink Explosion


	16. A Different View

Chapter 16 has finally arrived! I'm not gonna ramble on, instead let's just keep moving onto the good stuff!

**Edit: For whatever reason stopped displaying this chapter. Not really sure what that is all about, but attempting to get around that problem by deleting the chapter and re-uploading it. *Fingers crossed*

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**xNINJABLADE45x**: It was sad! But thanks for the compliment!

** ADHD-Kid2811**:Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story so much! As for the slight character changes, they were needed for the story. One of the underlying themes of this story will be Sakura's growth. She starts as a naive little girl, and by the time this story ends... Well she's gonna be pretty badass. We'll just say that =P So that's why she's so teary-eyed all the time. We'll see her get stronger and stronger as the story continues to progress. As for Naruto's intelligence, it's needed for this story to really work. Naruto needs to be smart enough to plan so he can protect Sakura from all the people trying to kill and/or capture her. And unlike canon Naruto, the Naruto in this story has received the most elite training he possibly could have received from a very young age, so it just plain makes sense he's stronger and smarter.

** saveme57**: I felt bad for Sai too, but I really had no choice but to kill him. Ever since chapter five I've been prattling on about how short a Guardian's life expectancy is. I obviously can't kill Naruto (right?), so I needed something that would give both the characters AND readers proof that, holy shit, guardian's can easily be killed. And Jiraiya you say? /e peers down below. As for Shikamaru, he will be appearing in this story, but as a celesti, not a guardian.

** Tea Unicorn**: I second that!

** mermaidangel123**: :) right back at ya!

** Gonewiththerain09**: Agreed =/

**Konoha's Crimson Fox**: That it does! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!

** Take Me To My Fragile Dreams**: The ending was sad wasn't it? And I'm not big on non-happy endings! But it had to be done. Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well =)

**Suna No Ken**: Hehe, yeah it was a sad ending, but I wouldn't recommend quitting just yet =P I can say with 100% confidence that Sai is dead, his sacrificial technique made him die in one giant ink explosion of doom. Apologies, but he needed to die for the story. And yeah, having three celesti to guard basically by himself isn't going to be a walk in the park... As for your Sakura theory, she doesn't yet have mastery over her powers. She can only instinctually heal Naruto right now, and no one else. Remember, Tsunade tried to get her to heal Jiraiya right after they ran from Orochimaru's hideout but Sakura couldn't. She has to learn _how_ her powers are healing Naruto's body before she can apply it elsewhere. And even if she had her powers, Kabuto's drug wasn't a nice one. I'm not sure if she could reverse its effects... But hopefully the medics at the Guardian Academy can!

**.love**: Who IS going to be Ino's next guardian? I know, but I'm not telling =P I didn't update again soon, but I updated, so hopefully that works!

**KagamineLenNeh**: Glad it was able to keep your attention that you read the entire story straight through =) And I gotta say, it was very cool to see the story go over 200 reviews, so thanks =)

** Jack Clark**: Ah my 200th review! To be honest with you, your review comes off a little bit "troll'ish," but I'm pretty near impossible to offend and appreciate the feedback so I didn't take it that way. To be entirely honest, I'm in a writing profession and I never really realized there was a difference between ya, yea and yeah! Of course, that would be because I've never had to write any form of "yeah" for my job, or any kind of writing I did back when I was a wee college kid. I had to google it to find about the proper uses. That all being said, there was a lot of debate online I found, and people in my old circles didn't really realize the difference between the various forms. So I would caution you to jump straight to, "what a fucking moron," if someone isn't using the proper form of "yeah," because they could be quite intelligent and just don't know that one small random little facet in the giant shit show that is the English language =) As for the rest of your comments, I'm not a grammarian, not even close, and as a result am QUITE lax on grammar. I have to be flawless for my job so I let myself be loose in my stories, it's nice little relief from the daily grind. As for spelling? I don't make spelling mistakes, please tell me what you're catching that is misspelled, I would love to know so I can correct in the future. Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for the 200th review.

**Goddess of Night Eternal Faith**: Ino slapping Sakura out of her doubts was fun. Sakura may or may return the favor this chapter in her own non-physical way =) Thanks for the kind words and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

** alphaladywolf**: Character death sucks, but sometimes necessary. And yeah, I was teary-eyed when Jiraiya died in the manga, so I'm with ya on the good characters dying thing. And not that I'm biased or anything, but NaruSaku rules =P

**bellaxxxUchiha**: Glad you're enjoying the story thus far =) But yeah, poor Sai indeed! And Ino is OOC in canon, but I think if you take her canon character and insert her into this world, with the experiences this world's Ino has had she'd be pretty similar... At least I hope so because that's what I'm going for! =)

** Luckybro1029**: Hah! That's lofty praise and much appreciated! Second-best might be pushing it though! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and I would've paid for Season 6 of Chuck by myself, after picking Season 5 up for a full 23 episode season. Seriously... Chuck ended. What am I supposed to do with my life? Viva Buymoria and nerd herd for life!

Anywho... Onto the show. Please do enjoy _Guardian__- _Chapter 16: A Different View

* * *

Ino stared at Naruto who was facing her with a somber look on his face. A flurry of negative emotions was flowing through her body right now that shouldn't be. She was hurt, she was sad; there was a giant pit in her stomach. All of these uncomfortable feelings… over a guardian.

Ino learned her lesson after Asuma. Guardians die, that's the way it is. She learned to look at them as nothing more than sacrifices. She felt none of these emotions when her second guardian died. She shouldn't have to feel these negative emotions ever again.

"Ino are you ok?" Sakura asked.

Ino's eyes flashed to Sakura's and quickly narrowed. This was Sakura's fault. Sakura was the one who had to make her question her views on guardians. Sakura was the one who inspired her to think of Sai as an actual person. Sakura and her stubbornness that she would be able to keep Naruto, her guardian, alive…

Ino took a calming breath. It wouldn't help to yell at Sakura, and it wouldn't help to blame the pink-haired girl for the pain she was currently feeling. She was feeling pain because Sai was dead. He chose to sacrifice himself to protect her. Although, it's not like he had much of a choice.

"Ino?" Sakura called out, her voice was filled with concern as she gently placed a hand on Ino's shoulder.

For some reason she couldn't quite understand, Sakura's concern was bothering Ino. How dare she act concerned when the only reason Ino was so torn up about her guardian's death was because of Sakura! How dare Sakura place her hand on Ino's shoulder…

"This is your fault." Ino bit out before her rational mind could regain control. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT SAKURA!"

Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at her best friend. "My fault?"

"If it weren't for you and your idiotic stubbornness I wouldn't be feeling any pain! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be sad at all that Sai died because I would still have been viewing him as a sacrifice. If it weren't for you I would not have been looking forward to actually getting to know him better…"

Sakura understood that her friend was grieving, but she was still confused. "How is that my fault?" Sakura asked, generally dumbfounded. "It's the fault of those four…"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!" Ino screeched as tears suddenly poured from her eyes. "The way you treat Naruto, the way you think you're going to keep him alive… YOU'RE NOT! HE'S A GUARDIAN SAKURA, HE'S GOING TO DIE. You made me believe… you made me believe that it was possible to keep a guardian alive for a minute there… But it's not. It's not possible. All guardians die Sakura. Naruto is going to sacrifice himself for you."

Sakura took a calming breath. Ino's words evoked a feeling of anger within her, but Sakura knew Ino was grieving. Grieving people weren't always in their right minds.

"It is possible Ino. I'm going to prove it to you." She calmly retorted.

"It's not. I've been a celesti for two years now and I've already lost three guardians." Ino shot back.

"Naruto is different. He's strong, and he's got me to heal him."

"Sai was strong." Ino snorted in disgust. "Asuma was strong. Hell, even the second guy was strong. GUARDIANS ARE STRONG SAKURA! But they still get worn down. Naruto is going to die; there is nothing you can do about that."

Sakura tried to push back the feeling of dread that entered her body upon hearing Ino's words. Naruto certainly could get worn down. He was completely exhausted when they arrived in this village. Who knows what would have happened if Itachi hadn't been protecting him… She could easily see Naruto getting worn down and killed.

"I don't care what you say Ino, I don't care what the chances are- I'm going to keep Naruto alive." Sakura fired back in as confident of a tone as she could muster.

"STOP THAT!" Ino yelled angrily. "You're being a complete idiot! You're only setting yourself up for unimaginable pain Sakura. I was only open to viewing Sai as an actual person for a day Sakura, and it hurts now that he's gone. I can't imagine how much it is going to hurt for you when Naruto dies. So stop being so damn delusional and distance yourself from him. It's your only option for survival."

"Sakura, Ino's right. It hurts so much worse when you lose a guardian that you've fallen in love with." Tsunade said quietly, speaking up for the first time since Sai's death.

"I…I don't care!" Tears were gathering in the corners of her eyes. Sakura knew that her tears were stupid. It didn't matter what Ino or Tsunade thought, she would keep Naruto alive and live happily ever after.

But having Ino yell at her like this… calling her an idiot for believing she could keep Naruto alive… It was slightly shaking her confidence even though she knew it shouldn't. She had saved Naruto's life today, just as she promised she would. Sakura knew she shouldn't doubt her ability to keep Naruto alive.

"AND YOU!" Ino turned on Naruto who had been strangely quiet during the conversation. "How dare you! You claim to care about Sakura and yet you're letting her think it's possible she can keep you alive? You know that it's impossible. You're going to die Naruto. You're a human sacrifice. If you really cared about my best friend then you would distance yourself from her, you wouldn't let her think she could actually settle down with you.

"Ino!" Sakura protested angrily. Even if she currently doubted herself, she still would not allow anyone to hurt Naruto. And Sakura could see by the look in Naruto's eyes that Ino's words had hurt him.

Sakura opened her mouth to further defend her guardian, but Naruto's somber voice beat her to the punch.

"You're right…"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "EXCUSE ME?"

"Sakura… Ino's right. We can say that I'm not going to die, but that's a lie. I'm not going to physically be with you forever, I'm… I'm going to give my life for yours."

From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Ino nodding her head in an approving manner. The pink-haired celesti couldn't believe it. Ino was nodding her head in an approving manner to a boy announcing he was going to die. Sakura understood that Ino was grieving the loss of her guardian, but she knew that she never wanted to be as jaded as Ino was right now. Suddenly all of Sakura's doubt was gone.

"Sakura, I think we…"

"Should stay together? You're right." Sakura interrupted with a sweet smile. She turned her attention to Ino who was now staring at her like she was an idiot.

"I'm sorry about Sai; I am Ino, but Sai's death doesn't change a thing when it comes to Naruto and me. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, nothing will take Naruto from me. I don't care who tells me he's doomed, because I know he's not."

"God you're such an idiot Sakura, you…"

"YOU'RE THE IDIOT INO!" Sakura roared in anger. She knew this wasn't the best way to comfort a grieving friend, but Ino's negativity was really starting to test her patience.

"How am I the idiot?" Ino's face was twisted into a look of indignant outrage.

"Because until today you didn't view guardians as people. Well news flash Ino, they are. And even if it hurts when they're gone, they still deserve to be treated as people while they're with us, and they deserved to be mourned as people when they leave us. Sai gave his life to protect you; the least you could do is mourn his death and give him the proper respect he deserves."

Three pairs of eyes widened at Sakura's words. The owners of the wide eyes had never looked at guardians like that before.

"I..but…" Ino sputtered. Sakura had a point. Sakura had a good point. But it still hurt…

"We're the ones with a destiny Sakura." Tsunade spoke up, saving Ino from having to come up with a reply. "Not them. We need to stay strong, that's the best way we can pay them the proper respect."

"Just because you grieve doesn't make you weak."

"It does after a while Sakura!" Ino sighed. "Eventually…"

"Then the fault lies with you, not your guardian. You should be strong enough to handle the deaths of your guardians. They're strong enough to handle protecting you, and brave enough to sacrifice their life. If they can do all that, the least you can do is to grieve and honor their sacrifice." Sakura scolded as she crossed her arms.

"Sakura…" Naruto gasped in surprise.

"Our fault or not, we need to be strong at all times Sakura." Tsunade explained, more to herself than Sakura. The girl's point was so simple, so obvious, yet not once in her long life had Tsunade ever thought about guardians the way Sakura did.

"Then get stronger!" Sakura growled angrily. "They work their asses off to get strong and protect us, so why can't we try to get stronger so we can honor them and their sacrifices if they make them?"

"When they make them." Ino corrected quietly.

"Whatever." Sakura huffed.

"You've got an interesting take on guardians." A new voice interjected into the conversation. "You sure did luck out Naruto."

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade gasped as she whirled around to face her guardian's bed. Sure enough, there he was, sitting in his bed, flashing Tsunade that giant grin of his.

"You look tired Hime." Jiraiya noted. "Couldn't sleep because you were so worried about me?" He joked with a lecherous grin on his face.

"Shut up you pervert." Tsunade sighed. Even though she was overjoyed to see her guardian awake again, she was still a prideful woman. She would _not_ be admitting that she lost sleep because she was worried about him. He would never let her live that down. And even though she may have the urge to leap onto him and wrap him in a tight embrace, she wouldn't let herself. She would never hear the end of it from him if she did.

"Glad to see you awake again you old perv, you slept long enough." Naruto teased. He was relieved to see Jiraiya finally awake… It was something to distract him from Sai's sacrifice. Even though Naruto had hated Sai just a week ago, he had really started to come along to Sai in the past couple of days… And seeing Sai die only reminded Naruto of a guardian's fate.

"You try taking some of Tsunade's super-powered punches!" Jiraiya scoffed.

"I did!" Naruto shot back. "A lot more than you did!"

"To be fair Naruto, you had me to patch you back up." Sakura interjected.

"Shhh, he doesn't have to know that Sakura-chan!"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Speaking of patching up, can I get you to heal me Hime? I'm still pretty sore."

The happy smile on Tsunade's face instantly dropped into a frown and she quickly averted her eyes.

"I…can't. I'm sorry Jiraiya."

"What? Did I piss you off or something? Did I say something in my sleep?"

"After you passed out, Tsunade turned against Orochimaru and we started fighting him." Naruto explained when he saw that Tsunade didn't seem to be in the mood to tell Jiraiya what happened to her.

"I knew you could do it Tsunade!" Jiraiya beamed in pride. "So Tsunade with her freakish strength and Naruto against Orochimaru? I bet you two wiped the floor with that bastard!"

Tsunade's frown deepened.

"We did… Well we were anyways. Just as Tsunade was about to deliver a powerful blow to Orochimaru, Kabuto appeared out of nowhere and jammed some syringe in her neck. I'm not sure what exactly was in the syringe, but whatever it was, it permanently closed off all of her tenketsus."

"WHAT?" Jiraiya roared angrily. "THAT BASTARD! WHEN I GET AHOLD OF HIM I'LL…" Jiraiya suddenly started coughing as pain flooded through his chest.

"You need to take it easy Jiraiya!" Tsunade said in a worried tone as she hurried to her guardian's side and rubbed his back. "When I hit you, I broke your sternum, and the broken bone punctured one of your lungs and caused it to collapse. You're going to need to take it easy for at least two to three months."

"Two to three months? The great and gallant Jiraiya doesn't take it easy for two to three months! Not when I have a beautiful woman to protect!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but a small smile found its way onto her face at the compliment. She would never in a million years tell Jiraiya this, but she appreciated the pervert's constant compliments.

"Well the great and gallant Jiraiya isn't going to be able to fulfill his duties as a guardian if he doesn't take it easy for two to three months." Tsunade admonished.

"I can heal him." Sakura spoke up. "If I can remove poison drop by drop from Naruto's blood, I should be able to mend a broken bone right?"

"I doubt you'll be able to, but you can try. You still don't understand exactly how your powers work yet, and you don't know how each and every part of the human body operates."

"This will be no problem!" Sakura shot back. She walked up to Jiraiya and pressed her hand over his sternum. Her hand started glowing green as she attempted to heal the man. She pressed her chakra into Jiraiya's body but frowned when it didn't do anything.

"Damnit!" Sakura huffed. "This should be a cake walk compared to removing that poison from Naruto!"

"Wait, did you say poison?" Jiraiya asked. He still was a little groggy from waking up after being unconscious for so long. "Who did you fight kid?"

"No one." Naruto quietly replied.

"My guardian… my old guardian was apparently ordered by someone on the Guardian Council to poison Naruto." Ino spoke up for the first time since Jiraiya interjected himself into their conversation.

"Who?"

"Danzo." Sakura growled. "When I see him I'm going to kick his ass!"

"I wouldn't recommend that." Jiraiya chuckled. "He's a lot stronger than he looks. He'd give even Naruto a run for his money. Why would Danzo possibly want to kill you? You're one of the strongest members of the Guardian Order…"

"The Guardian Council ordered Sai to poison me when I encountered Itachi and didn't fight him. Apparently they decided it was better to kill me now then wait for me to join Itachi."

"WHAT?" Jiraya yelled, which only caused his body to have another fit of coughs.

"As if Naruto would betray them." Sakura seethed. "I'm going to kick all of their asses!"

"What a headache." Jiraiya sighed. "I would keep your distance for now kid, with Itachi amassing his forces, and Orochimaru amassing his, things are picking up in this world. Their attention will shift from you soon enough."

"I know that. But first I'm going to take you and Tsunade to the Guardian Academy. Their medics there might be able to come up with a way to re-open this old hag's tenketsus."

Tsunade glared at Naruto at the name he used, and opened her mouth to admonish him, but she was beat to the punch as Sakura slapped Naruto across the back of the head.

"Be respectful baka!"

"There's no need for violence Sakura!" Naruto half-heartedly protested.

Ino stood back quietly watching the whole scene. It was strange for her. She was still hurting from Sai's death, but somehow watching Sakura interact with Naruto cheered her up a little. Not to mention watching Tsunade sit by Jiraiya like some kind of protective mama bear. Ino could tell that beneath the older woman's mask of annoyance, she cared deeply for her guardian.

Ino wanted that. She wanted a guardian who she could secretly worry about, or if she so chooses, to openly worry about. Her eyes landed back on her best friend. Sakura had certainly grown over the past couple of years.

In just a couple of days, Sakura managed to take Ino's view on guardians and turn it upside down… and Ino was thankful for that. It hurt right now to be mourning Sai, but Sakura was right, he deserved to be mourned.

Ino was broken out of her musings when she noticed that the older guardian, Jiraiya, had a concerned look on his face.

"Naruto are you sure you want to accompany us back to the Guardian Academy? I really don't think that's the best idea if Danzo tried to have you killed. Why don't you and Sakura go on your way, and Tsunade and I will go and handle it?"

"Right, like we're going to leave some pervert who can't fight to protect some Ha… celesti." Naruto quickly corrected how he referred to Tsunade when Sakura gave him a warning glare.

"Jiraiya is actually right for once." Tsuande spoke up. "It's smarter for you two if you stay away from the Academy for now."

"We'll be fine." Sakura smiled. "We're going."

"Besides, I think it would be good if we take Ino with us."

"Me? Why? I can just wait for a replacement guardian here."

"You'll be defenseless while you wait. I'll admit, usually they're pretty quick about getting replacements, but if there's a way to avoid you being unprotected, we need to take advantage of it."

"You'll be protecting three celesti!" Ino protested. "Sai had to sacrifice himself to protect the three of us already. I can just wait here. I'll be fine."

"I'm a lot stronger than Sai was." Naruto smiled. "You're coming with us. Better safe than sorry."

"A guardian giving me orders…" Ino mumbled under her breath with a small smile on her face.

Naruto was relieved to see that smile. He wanted to get Ino to safety for Sai. If it hadn't been for Sai's sacrifice, Sakura could very well be dead right now. He would protect Ino until a new guardian came.

"You two are a stubborn pair." Jiraiya sighed. "But fine. We should head out immediately before anyone else comes after the celesti."

"Agreed. Are you ok to walk?" Naruto asked.

"Me? Who do you think you're talking to kid? I'm the great and gallant…whoah!" Jiraiya attempted to get up and out of the bed, but his legs were wobbly from not being used for a couple of days and he instantly started to fall forward.

An arm wrapped around his waist and Jiraiya flashed its owner a lecherous grin. "I see you can't keep your hands off me Hime. I knew you'd come around eventually."

"If you weren't badly injured… I swear…" Tsunade growled.

"Hmm, maybe we should wait for Jiraiya to recover." Naruto suggested. His chakra still felt kind of funny from being poisoned, and his body was still sore, but he really didn't want to sit around in a village with three celesti… Especially after a powerful group already came after them. Who knew how many more were on the way now. But if Jiraiya wasn't fit for travel then Naruto would just have to deal with it.

"No, I'll help him walk. We really do need to leave as quickly as possible."

"Are you sure you want to walk into the Guardian Academy Naruto?" Jiraiya decided to ask one last time.

"Well, Sakura and I won't be going into the Academy with you. We'll be dropping you guys off just outside the Academy. Once it's in sight, you will all be safe."

"That's a little better… Fine, let's go."

* * *

"Sai betrayed me in the end…" Danzo seethed. "I thought he was a good guardian… Clearly I was mistaken."

"My apologies Danzo-sama." A ROOT agent replied.

Danzo was sitting in his own private chambers with a couple of his top members of ROOT, receiving his intelligence reports.

"It's fine. If your report is correct, that means Naruto will be bringing all of the celesti here. We can kill him on his way here."

"Are you sure that's the best idea Danzo-sama?" Another ROOT member spoke up.

"Don't question me Tenzo." Danzo warned. "The longer we wait to kill Naruto Uzumaki, the more time we give him to betray us and join Itachi."

"Would you like to hear the report on Orochimaru's progress Danzo-sama?" Another ROOT member spoke up. Danzo nodded his head. After the news that one of his best operatives betrayed him, Danzo was hoping this report would contain good news.

"Without a celesti, Orochimaru's research has essentially frozen. He was forced to flee from his lab after Naruto's attack, so he wasn't able to retain all of the data he gained while testing on Tsunade."

"I see. So we need a sacrifice eh? Send a ROOT agent to intercept Naruto's group and tell Sai's old charge, Ino Yamanaka, he is her new guardian. He will then take the girl to Orochimaru so he can complete his research."

"Danzo-sama," Tenzo spoke up. "To be clear, are you ordering one of your operatives to pose as a guardian to deliver a celesti to Orochimaru?"

Danzo glared at Tenzo. He had already warned the masked man to stop questioning him… His glare turned into a more inquisitive look as Danzo started to really inspect Tenzo. Something was different about him.

Never once had Danzo ever had a reason to doubt Tenzo. He had been a loyal ROOT member for years… But now Danzo found himself scanning Tenzo's chakra… and biting back a curse.

"First Sai betrays me… now you too Tenzo. Disappointing, and pathetic." He let a kunai he kept in his sleeve fall into his hands, and coated it with wind chakra. "Let this be a message to the real you, no one betrays me and lives to talk about."

Danzo sliced Tenzo in half, causing his body to crumble apart in a pile of wood.

"How did I not notice he was a wood clone earlier…" Danzo mumbled.

"Torune!"

Torune appeared and kneeled in front of Danzo, waiting for his command.

"Hiruzen knows of ROOT's operations now thanks to Tenzo's betrayal. He and the council will want to disband ROOT and remove me from power. Let every ROOT member know that Operation Phoenix begins now.

"Hai." Torune quickly replied, before disappearing to relay Danzo's command.

Danzo looked around at his ROOT members who were still gathered in his chambers. The Guardian Academy would be a very different place by the time he and his forces were through with it.

He hadn't intended on beginning Operation Phoenix for a few years still, but Hiruzen forced his hand by getting one of his best ROOT agents to betray him. Now after years of planning, Operation Phoenix would go into effect. Soon his ROOT members would be taking over the Guardian Academy.

Danzo smiled. He would destroy the guardian order, and from the ashes he and his ROOT would emerge and change the world.

* * *

The village that they had spent the past couple of days in was in the distance as Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Jiraiya and Tsunade walked down a path. It was getting dark, but they wouldn't be stopping to set up camp anytime soon. They needed to put distance between themselves and the village before more people hunting celesti arrived.

"Hey kid, I don't mean to judge, but why are we going down a main path?" Jiraiya asked.

"This path is the start of the route we have to take to get to the Guardian Academy." Naruto answered with a slightly confused look on his face. How did Jiraiya not know this?

"Right, but we're walking down a well-traveled path…" Jiraiya pressed.

"Right…"

"You really are fresh out of the academy aren't you?" Tsunade snorted.

"What do you mean?" Naruto was generally confused right now.

"Don't you think we're more likely to be discovered walking down a well-traveled path Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"Of course we are, but we have to take these paths to get to the Academy!"

"What an idiot." Tsunade sighed.

"Hey!" Sakura protested, " Naruto isn't an…"

"Ohhhh I see what you're saying now!" Naruto interrupted his charge with eyes wide in understanding. "We can go off the paths and still reach the academy!"

"Well it looks like you might have a brain after all brat." Tsunade taunted.

"Umm… there's only one problem with that…" Naruto muttered with a sheepish, yet embarrassed smile.

"And that problem is…"

"I sort of slacked off when it came to geography in the Academy. I barely know the main roads and paths. I would quickly get lost if I tried to go off the paths."

Being a seasoned guardian and celesti, both Jiraiya and Tsunade sweat dropped.

"You're telling me that during your academy days, knowing full well that you would one day be escorting a celesti around the world, you slacked on geography? How in your little brain did that make sense?" Tsunade asked in a surprised tone.

Honestly, she was surprised. Naruto had been the model of an effective guardian thus far. He was extremely powerful, had a fairly decent head on his shoulders, and he was constantly aware of his surroundings. She couldn't believe that someone of his character would slack off on the most basic, yet some of the most important knowledge he should have while protecting a celesti.

"Well… it was really boring…" Naruto weakly defended.

"That's unacceptable. While we're travelling to the Academy, you're going to study geography. I expect you to have the way of the land completely memorized by the time we get there." Tsunade sternly lectured.

"WHAT? You're not my teacher! I don't have to listen to you!" Naruto protested. When he graduated from the academy, he planned on never having to study again! Except for studying how to master the various elemental manipulations… But those didn't count! Those were to make him stronger!

"Is that so…" Tsunade growled. It sounded eerily similar to Sakura's warning growl. And even though Tsunade currently did not have access to her chakra, that growl still invoked a fear in him, much like Sakura's warning growl did.

"I mean… I'll learn it all!" Naruto quickly yelped causing the rest of their party to chuckle at his antics.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll help." Sakura offered as their laughter died down. She remembered Naruto saying when they first met that he didn't pay attention in geography and that's why he was late, but she didn't realize his knowledge was that shaky. She found it amusing that such a powerful and confident man could actually be bad with directions.

"No, you'll learn it with him. You should know this stuff too Sakura." Tsunade ordered. "Speaking of learning, why aren't you examining Naruto's body right now? I thought you wanted to learn how your powers worked so you could heal more people than Naruto."

"Of course I want to learn!" Sakura defended as she quickly grabbed her guardian's hand. She used her healing chakra to start examining Naruto's body.

"Good. Remember, you need to learn how every little part of his body works. When you know how something works, you'll have a lot easier time fixing it."

Sakura nodded her head and began focusing on each and every little aspect of her guardian's body.

"Jeez old hag, you're like some kind of task master."

"If I wasn't supporting Jiraiya right now I would clobber you into next week." Tsunade threatened.

"You're welcome kid." Jiraiya grinned.

They continued walking for another couple of minutes in complete silence until Tsunade spoke up yet again.

"Why aren't you studying geography right now Naruto?"

"Because I don't have anything to study." Naruto replied with a smile.

"Oh really? Well we can't have that now can we? Jiraiya, I have a couple of books on geography in one of our scrolls, unseal it for Naruto please."

Jiraiya grinned and unsealed a rather large book from one of his scrolls.

"Here you go kid, catch!"

Naruto groaned as he caught the large book. But he opened it and began reading nonetheless. As much as he hated studying, he knew that ultimately it would help him protect Sakura better if he was able to stay off the main roads… But god was this stuff boring!

Tsunade smiled as she looked at the younger guardian and celesti duo. Many parallels could be drawn between those two, and she and Jiraiya. Sakura was determined to keep Naruto alive, and Tsunade was determined to impart her wisdom upon the two of them to give Sakura a better chance.

* * *

The group continued their steady pace away from the village for four hours, and the night was now pitch black. Sakura hadn't once taken her focus off of scanning Naruto's body and figuring out how everything worked. Nor had Naruto shifted his attention from the geography book, although he was careful to still remain aware of his surroundings.

But Naruto noticed that his group was starting to slow down. He pried his eyes out of the boring geography book and examined everyone. Ino looked like she could drop to the ground at any second she was so exhausted, and Tsunade was clearly affected by having to support Jiraiya.

Although he tried to act tough, Naruto could tell that Jiraiya was having difficulty continuing on thanks to his injury as well. Lastly, Naruto's eyes fell upon his girlfriend. She had the cutest look of concentration on her pretty face, but Naruto could see the signs of exhaustion creeping up on her features as well.

They hadn't put as much distance between the village and themselves as he would've liked, but it would have to do for now. These people needed to rest.

"Alright everyone, we're going to set up camp right here. I want you all to get your rest, so we will leave in the early afternoon." Naruto announced.

"We haven't gotten far enough away from the village yet Naruto." Jiraiya protested.

"We haven't, but it will be ok. You are all exhausted and need rest. So we're setting up camp here."

"I'm fine." Sakura huffed, speaking up for the first time since Tsunade told her to start scanning Naruto.

"Of course you are." Naruto chuckled. "But we're stopping here anyways." Naruto let go of Sakura's hand and summoned five shadow clones. The clones instantly got to work setting up tents for everyone before four of them set up a parameter around the camp. The fifth clone walked up to Naruto and held out its hand.

Naruto handed the clone the geography book and grinned at the clone's baffled expression.

"What the hell is this?"

"A geography book. You're going to read it."

"Why should I study this boring book? Shouldn't I be studying the water manipulation scroll some more?" The clone protested.

"I need to improve on my basics a little before I go any further in the advanced knowledge." Naruto answered. "So have fun. It's boring as hell to read!"

As Naruto wandered over to the tent he had set up for Sakura and himself, he heard his clone mumbling something about books being stupid and chuckled. He stepped in the tent to find that Sakura had already zipped their sleeping bags together and was laying now in _their_ sleeping bag with her eyes closed.

_She must've been really exhausted if she already fell asleep._ Naruto mused as he joined Sakura.

"Ok, maybe I was a little tired." Sakura mumbled as she turned to cuddle Naruto the second he was in the sleeping bag.

"It's ok Sakura-chan. You were amazing today. Thank you."

Her eyes still closed, Sakura smiled and laid a soft kiss on Naruto's chest. "I would try to talk to you some more, but I'm really tired… so I'm just going to go to sleep now." Sakura murmured.

Naruto chuckled and kissed Sakura's forehead. "Good night Sakura."

"Night Naruto."

Sakura's breathing slowed to a calm and steady pace which told Naruto she had fallen asleep. He stared at her sleeping form with a soft smile on his face.

_I am so lucky that you are my charge Sakura. _Naruto thought. He rested his chin on the head of the woman he loved and closed his eyes to join her in sleep.

* * *

A group of masked men looked off in the distance where their targets were currently camped. They made sure to maintain a safe distance so they were not detected.

"Are you prepared?" One of the masked men asked another.

"Hai. I shall approach the targets tomorrow claiming to be Ino Yamanaka's new guardian, and then shall lead her to Orochimaru. I accept that Orochimaru will likely capture me and experiment on me as well."

"You serve ROOT well." The other man said in a monotonous voice.

"Thank you. I wish you luck in killing Naruto Uzumaki after I've led the Yamanaka girl away."

"Thank you, but we won't need it."

* * *

"This emergency council session has been called to order to deal with a very serious threat." Hiruzun Sarutobi's grave voice rang out in the Council's Chamber.

"Where is Danzo? Shouldn't we wait for him?" Koharu asked.

"Unfortunately he is who we are here to address." Hiruzen answered in a weary voice. "Danzo has betrayed the Guardian Order."

A number of council members gasped in shock.

"What do you mean he betrayed us? Danzo has always been extremely loyal to the Guardian Order. He would never betray us!" Koharu snapped.

"That's right. Where's your proof Hiruzen?" Another council member yelled.

"Everyone be quiet." Chiyo snapped, shutting up all of the council members. "Hiruzen is a smart man, and he realizes the severity of the accusation. I'm sure he wouldn't call a meeting like this if he didn't have proof."

"Thank you Chiyo, and you are correct. I wish it wasn't so, but I have proof of Danzo's betrayal. Tenzo, please come out."

A masked man stepped out of the shadows and quietly stood before the Guardian Council.

"This is Tenzo, he is a member of Danzo's ROOT. He came to me two years ago when he began to silently question Danzo's loyalty. I will let you explain the rest Tenzo."

"Honored members, it is with a heavy heart that I must confirm Hiruzen-sama's story. Danzo is a traitor to the Guardian Order." The man named Tenzo calmly explained. "I first suspected that Danzo wasn't loyal two years ago, when he began to teach all of ROOT his "Operation Phoenix." He didn't tell us what the Operation was for, but it seemed suspicious to me. I contacted Hiruzen-sama and became his spy."

"Why are we just now learning of this Hiruzen?" Koharu demanded.

"The less people who knew about this, the less chance Danzo had of discovering that he had a spy in his midst." Hiruzen calmly explained. "Please continue Tenzo."

"The drills we ran for Operation Phoenix involved using destructive force in the Academy. We ran a drill for Operation Phoenix once a month in secret for the past two years. Each time, we were instructed in ways to move more quickly throughout the academy. But what was most troubling, was that our targets were the students in the Academy themselves."

"WHAT?" Chiyo gasped. "Why would he go after the students? They are the future security of this world!"

"I'm not sure. As a ROOT member, we do not question Danzo. We have been taught to accept that he knows what is best and fulfill his commands without a second thought."

"If Danzo really has spent the past couple of years coming up with such a terrifying plan, why are we just now finding out about this? If Danzo really has this "Operation Phoenix" as you say, he should've been arrested years ago!" Homura yelled.

"Because according to our information, Danzo had no plans to put "Operation Phoenix" for at least two years." Hiruzen answered. "And Danzo was very careful with his drills. His ROOT were trained to abandon the drill the second they suspected any non ROOT member was onto them."

"Then why are you moving against him now?" Koharu asked.

"Because… Danzo is likely preparing to carry out Operation Phoenix as we speak."

A chorus of outraged yells rang out from the various Council Members.

"Everyone quiet down!" Hiruzen bellowed angrily. "I've already dispatched the guards to counteract their efforts."

"You don't have the right to direct the guards by yourself Hiruzen. That is a decision we make as a Council." Koharu snapped.

"Had he waited, we might have been too late." Tenzo spoke up.

"Why now? Why is Danzo deciding to act now when your information said we had at least two years?"

"Because Danzo discovered I had betrayed him tonight." Tenzo sighed. "I sat in a meeting where he confessed to ordering Sai to assassinate Naruto, ordered more of his ROOT members to go after Naruto, and he ordered one of his ROOT members to go and pose as the new guardian to Sai's old charge and deliver her to Orochimaru so he could continue the research he started when he captured Tsunade."

"He wanted to kill Naruto? Is he stupid?" One of the council members yelled.

"He would willingly send a celesti to Orochimaru? He's going to be the death of us all!" Another member chimed in.

"Thank you for bringing this information to our attention Hiruzen." Chiyo's raspy, yet strong voice rang out silencing all of the other members. "But why are we really here tonight?"

"Observant as always Chiyo." Hiruzen smiled. "My fellow Council Members, the real purpose I have brought you all here tonight isn't to give you information. It's to rise to action. Danzo is going to start a civil war in the Guardian Order whether we like it or not. It's time we declare war on Danzo."

"To do that, we would need to name one of our council members Hokage to lead and direct our forces." Koharu noted.

"That's right, and I nominate Hiruzen Sarutobi." Chiyo said with a firm smile on her face.

"A fine nomination." Homura agreed. "What do you say Hiruzen, do you have enough left to become Hokage and lead our forces to victory over the traitor?"

Hiruzen flashed his fellow council members a confident smile. "I do."

"All in favor of naming Hiruzen the Hokage, which he will remain until he has finished this war?" Chiyo asked.

Every single council member in the room said one single word in perfect unison, "Aye!"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you will lead our forces through this war. You will have the power to make decisions without obtaining our approval. Do you accept the position of Hokage and agree to step down once the war is over?" Chiyo asked.

"I accept the position, and I look forward to stepping down after we have defeated Danzo." Hiruzen confirmed.

"Then on behalf of the council, I name you Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Guardian Order!" Chiyo proclaimed.

Council members began to offer their congratulations to Hiruzen, but he knew there was no time to sit around.

"Thank you all for putting your faith in me, but I'm afraid I must end this meeting now. There is much to do. Tenzo, come with me please. We have much to discuss."

"Hai Hokage-sama."

* * *

Man, don't you just hate Danzo? And a loyalist like Danzo starting a civil war amongst the Guardian order? What's that all about!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please do review and I shall see you all next time!


	17. The Coming Storm

'Allo 'allo everyone. Here's a lengthy chapter to Guardian. I hope you enjoy!

_**Edit: I made some edits to the chapter because there were a couple of sentences that were overly repetitive for my taste, but I was having difficulty updating the chapter. So I had to delete it, and then re-up. My apologies to anyone who saw Guardian up here, or got another notification only to find that there is in fact no new chapter.**_

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and/or favorited it or added it to their alerts.

A shout and thanks to everyone who reviewed the story since last time:xNINJABLADE45x, ItzStorytime, saveme57, mermaidangel123, Luckybro1029/Lucifer, Darious Forst, Your Hoshi, Saito Namizke Reborn, alphaladywolf, 511narusaku4eva, delphinous, Take Me To My Fragile Dreams, whatever. you. love, 9-tailed reaper

* * *

**xNINJABLADE45x**: Thank ya thank ya! I didn't update soon, but I updated. 1 out of 2 aint bad right?

** ItzStorytime**: Right? I doubt he's going to make any more friends in this chapter either.

**saveme57**: Haha, yeah, the life of a celesti is much more suited to Shikamaru's personality. Just randomly wander the world until your destiny suddenly reveals itself and your powers automatically come out on their own. I know exactly who Shikamaru's guardian is gonna be, but I'm not telling -_- And yeah, Ino definitely hasn't done anything to deserve to be experimented on by Orochimaru, she's just your typical celesti. And no worries, Danzo will get his...eventually.

**mermaidangel123**: Wait no longer! I kinda left this chapter at another cliffy... I have an addiction to writing cliffhangers apparently.

**Luckybro1029/Lucifer**: Haha, thanks bud. Glad to see you're enjoying the story!

**Darious Frost**: Yeah, it sucked that Sai needed to die, he's a fun character to write about with his social ineptitude and all... But how else are the readers going to believe me that guardians have a short life span if none of them ever die? =P (And thanks on the jutsu, I thought it was fun.) But he definitely went out in well-deserved badassery. And I hear ya on Ino, I felt bad for her too. The temptation was there to write in, "And then Sai poofed into the room and said, 'Hey guys, I was just jokin. I'm good, lulz' " As for her second guardian... well I know exactly who it is, but you readers won't be finding that out for a bit =P As for the parallels between SW and FFX, they are there, aren't they? Humm...

**Your Hoshi**: Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Saito Namizke Reborn**: Thank you kindly =) Like I said to xNINJABLADE45x above, I didn't hurry, but I did update!

**alphaladywolf**: Hehe, Danzo is so easy to hate that he's a fun villain, because every time I write a scene with him, I know that my readers will just be crossing their fingers hoping that someone walks up and beats the bloody crap out of him. As for Naruto and Sakura, as a guardian and celesti they're definitely not going to have an easy time in their relationship. But my fingers are crossed that it will be worth it in the end! Onto Ino, she's not a bitch at all! She's just your typical celesti. You gotta look at this from a celesti's point of view, on average, a guardian dies for them once a year. So if they befriended each guardian, then they would be losing at least one friend a year. That would start to wear anyone down. Now, as a celesti, they are the ones who are going to be called upon to save the world. The guardians are sacrificing their lives so the celesti can fulfill their destinies. So as a celesti, the best way to honor their guardian's sacrifice is to reach their destiny, that way the guardian doesn't die in vain. But if they're too busy being depressed from losing their tenth friend in ten years, they could miss out on their destiny, thus all of their guardian's sacrifices would be in vain. Is this the right way of thinking? Well Sakura certainly doesn't seem to think so, but it makes sense and it's the way most celesti act to survive. Moving onto Ino's future guardian... I know who it is, but am not telling =) I will say that it isn't Shikamaru as he is going to come into the story as a celesti.

**511narusaku4eva**: Haha, I hear ya on the Danzo and Orochimaru hate! Thanks for the kind words and enjoy the chapter!

**delphinous**: Glad you're enjoying the story. And a very good observation. I've only offered one tiny hint at how the celesti are detected at this point. But for now I'll just say that a celesti's chakra is different from everyone else's! As for Danzo, I totally agree on him being such a great bad guy. I personally think he'll get his eventually. I can't say how soon it will be though! (Well... I can, but I'm not going to because I'm mean like that). I will warn you that Jiraiya wasn't kidding when he told Sakura that Danzo is extremely powerful. Enjoy this chapter!**  
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** Take Me To My Fragile Dreams**: No worries! I feel terrible for Ino, to just be getting her eyes opened and then that happened! But thankfully Sakura is around and in this story, I've given her the ability that Naruto has in the manga/anime to change people for the better. As for her next guardian, it will be a bit before readers find out. There may or may be some fluffy NaruSaku moments in this chapter. Not many, but a sprinkling of fluff never hurt anyone. I'm sure that someone will kick Danzo's ass... eventually. And yeah, I love writing Jiraiya!

** whatever. you. love**: My pleasure! And this story isn't even close to coming to an end. I have the ending written, and could transition into it at any time, but there's a lot more story that I want to cover before I reach that. So no worries, we got a while before this story comes to a close.

**9-tailed reaper**: Well wait no longer then!

* * *

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and I would... well I would still be paying for a season 6 of Chuck damnit! And season 7... and 8! Morale of the story- this was a pretty awful disclaimer and I still miss Chuck. Boo NBC for canceling it.

And now that I've enriched your life with that wonderful disclaimer, let's move along. Please do enjoy _Guardian__- _Chapter 17: The Coming Storm

* * *

"You're absolutely certain this information is correct?" Itachi asked the man who looked like he had a venus fly trap over his head.

"I'm absolutely certain Itachi-sama. Danzo has started a civil war amongst the guardians."

"This is perfect! Now we can go sacrifice all those bastards to Lord Jashin!" Hidan yelled with an excited grin on his face, gaining murmurs of approval from the crowd gathered in the dimly lit war room of the Akatsuki's base.

Itachi peered around at his gathered soldiers. Most of them were shrouded in the ample darkness that the lack of lighting provided. It suited him better to keep the room dim, it was harder for his subordinates to read him in the darkness.

"This is interesting news." Itachi finally said.

"Interesting news? This is more than interesting; this is what we've been waiting for. Let's go kill them all already!" Sasuke snorted.

Itachi's eyes landed on his little brother. Sasuke and Hidan were right of course, this was the perfect opportunity that the Akatsuki had been waiting for. With the Guardian order divided and fighting amongst themselves, they wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against their might.

But his plan hadn't progressed far enough yet. Sasuke was not ready yet.

"We need to be careful with our next move; it would be foolish of us to rush into anything." Itachi countered.

"With all due respect Itachi-sama, Zetsu's information has never been wrong before. This is an opportunity that the Akatsuki cannot ignore." Nagato spoke up from the edge of the darkness in the room.

"He's right Itachi, now is the time we've all been waiting for. It's time to finish the Guardian order." Kisame spoke up with a sharky grin.

Itachi mentally swore as he glanced around at his subordinates. They were all loyal to him because they feared him. But even though the lighting was dim, it was easy to see that everyone gathered wanted to act. He had sold them all on the idea of freeing guardians from their doomed fate by wiping the guardian order from the face of the earth… and he sold them on the idea well.

Itachi needed each of these people for his plan to succeed. He worked with each guardian he recruited into the Akatsuki, and he took the time to methodically manipulate each of them until they held the hatred he needed them to hold for the Guardian Order.

He gained each new recruit's respect through fear and intimidation. He needed their loyalty for his plan to succeed. If he refused to act on this opportunity, they would be unhappy. He had made them hate too much for them to accept him not acting on the perfect chance to destroy the guardians.

"You're all right." Itachi finally spoke up. "Prepare yourselves. We leave for the Guardian Academy on the hour."

Itachi's gathered forces smiled at his announcement, but he paid them no mind. He left the room without another word. Itachi had an hour and the trip to the Guardian Academy to figure out a way to preserve his plan.

* * *

"This is too good to be true!" Orochimaru sneered. "What's the catch Kabuto? Surely there must be a catch."

"No catch Orochimaru-sama. Danzo has started a guardian civil war."

"What a fool. But his foolishness is our gain. Prepare my army Kabuto. We are going to go collect some guardians."

Kabuto nodded his head and left the room to go alert his master's army.

Orochimaru looked around his lab with a wicked grin. That brat Naruto forced him to abandon his research on Tsunade… but with the Guardian Order in such disarray he would easily be able to capture as many guardians as he liked.

With his curse seal he was able to transform an ordinary person into a warrior capable of fighting on a guardian's level. The few guardians he had captured to experiment on had always used their sacrificial techniques before he could get far enough.

But the students didn't know any sacrificial techniques. The students he had started experimenting on while he was still a member of the Order had shown great potential, but he didn't have the time he needed to fully see what they were capable of.

Now the Guardian Order was weak. There would be no one to stop him from collecting as many young guardians as he liked. He would have all the time he wanted to unlock their full potential, and once unlocked, he could use them to overpower other guardians and capture some celesti for him to experiment on.

It was only a matter of time now… It was only a matter of time until Orochimaru had control over the absolute power of the celesti. And in the process, he would get to destroy the Guardian Order – the very same order that slowed down his research when they expelled him from it.

"What a perfect day." Orochimaru cooed to the empty room. "I get my revenge and I walk one step closer to mastering true power."

* * *

Birds were chirping as Naruto slowly peeked his eyes open. He thought of getting up, but he was pretty comfortable where he was. His girlfriend was still sound asleep and wrapped around him, not to mention he had left his clone with a geography book. If he got up, the clone would dispel itself and he would be stuck reading that damn boring book. And honestly, what man in his right mind would choose to read a boring geography book over laying with his gorgeous and loving girlfriend?

He closed his eyes to allow himself to slip back into sleep. Just as he felt sleep's embrace coming, the sound of a twig snapping caused his eyes to bolt open.

"Instead of walking into our camp, why don't you stop right where you are and tell us what you're doing here." Naruto heard one of his clone's say in an icy tone. His thoughts of drifting back to sleep with Sakura were long gone as he put on his clothes and jumped out of the tent.

No one would hurt these celesti when they were under his protection. His chakra still felt off from the poison, but it didn't matter. Tsunade and Jiraiya saved his and Sakura's life and watched over them, Ino was the charge of a guardian who sacrificed himself to protect not just Ino, but Sakura and Tsunade too. And Sakura… well she was Sakura. Nothing would ever hurt Sakura when he was around.

Naruto looked around and found a man who was surrounded by his four clones. Each of his clone's held a kunai to the man's neck.

"The shadow clone technique is more impressive in person." The man greeted.

"I'm in no mood for small talk. It's early; who are you and why are you here?" Naruto growled.

"I'm no threat to you." The man smiled.

"I'm not worried about that. Tell me who you are, and why you're here."

"I'm also not a threat to your charge, or any of the other celesti you are currently protecting."

"I'm giving you one more chance, tell me who you are and why you're here or else I'm going to have my clones jam their kunais into your neck."

"You don't mess around do you? That's good in a guardian." The man amicably replied. "My name is Maso, and I'm here for Ino Yamanka. I have been assigned as her new guardian."

"You should've said that to begin with." Naruto sighed. He motioned for his clone's to remove their kunais from Maso's neck.

"Naruto, what's going on?" A tired voice asked. Naruto looked to his tent to see Sakura climbing out of it, her eyes barely open.

"Ino's new guardian is here. What are you doing up already?"

"I heard you growling about something, so I decided to investigate."

"Oh…" Naruto didn't realize his voice was that loud. He had been so determined to protect Sakura, Tsunade and Ino that he didn't even bother regulating the level of his voice.

"And you said you wanted us to get our rest." Another voice snorted.

"Excuse me for trying to protect you old hag." Naruto rolled his eyes. However, his eyes quickly widened when he realized he made a mistake. He opened his mouth to correct the mistake, but he was too slow.

"I told you to be more respectful baka!" Sakura yelled as she slapped him upside the head. She appeared to be fully awake now.

"Right right…" Naruto muttered. Sometimes he wondered if she was somehow able to use her chakra for more than just healing… her slaps were awfully strong for a celesti who hadn't unlocked her full power yet…

Maso mentally smirked as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. This was the great Naruto? This was the man who was supposedly the strongest in the Guardian Order? _What a joke…_ He thought to himself. _This boy is an idiot. Although… his clones were very impressive. They must have sensed me coming. They let me think I was walking into an unguarded camp, when really I just walked directly into their trap._

"What's going on now?" A new voice asked. Maso looked up to see a woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes climbing out of a tent. She had a slender figure, yet curves in all the places a man wanted a woman to have curves.

If she wasn't his target, Maso probably would have been attracted to this woman. But the pretty blonde who had just stepped out of the tent was the charge of a traitor to ROOT, and she was the key for Orochimaru to figure out how to unlock a celesti's full power.

"Ino Yamanaka, it's nice to meet you. My name is Maso and I'm your new guardian."

Ino blinked at Maso, and then offered him a friendly smile. "Hello Maso, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for coming to get me."

Ino was determined to be different this time around. When Sai first picked her up, she didn't even bother greeting him. She just demanded he take her to a spa because she wanted to go to the hot springs. She didn't treat him with any courtesy, instead she treated him like a servant and a sacrifice from the second she saw him.

But that wouldn't happen again. Sakura had inspired Ino. Sakura had always been brilliant, and she always had a different way at examining the world around her. Sakura's simple view on guardians inspired Ino to vow to become stronger.

Not physically, because she didn't really see the point... but mentally. She would befriend her new guardian and treat him like a person. It would likely hurt badly when Maso died for her, but she would mourn him as a hero deserved to be mourned. She would get strong enough so she could mentally handle the pain of losing a friend.

"Same to you Ino-sama." Maso replied. "And it's no problem. But we should get leaving soon. I don't like having three celesti in the same place like this."

"So soon?" Sakura frowned. She had spent all of last night studying Naruto's body with her chakra to try to understand how it worked. If she would've known Ino was going to be leaving so soon, she would've spent the time with her best friend instead.

"Why don't we all eat breakfast first? I'm hungry." Ino suggested.

"Ino-sama…"

"And stop calling me Ino-sama. Ino's fine." Ino waved her new guardian off.

Maso thought about grabbing Ino and forcibly dragging her away, but he didn't want to do anything that might give Naruto even a single reason to question his intentions. The boy may be an idiot, but Danzo feared him enough to send Maso's now former ROOT squad to kill him.

Maso's squad had been among ROOT's elite, and his former captain was especially strong. Danzo wouldn't send them after Naruto if the boy was as weak as he seemed to be.

"I guess that won't hurt anything." Maso relented with a friendly smile on his face. He didn't want to wait. He wanted to complete his mission as soon as possible, even though he knew very well that the only thing that awaited him was horrific torture as soon as he completed his mission.

He had been one of the ROOT members assigned to assisting the Academy guard in investigating Orochimaru. The gruesome images of Orochimaru's experiments on the academy students he had kidnapped were forever etched into his mind.

Yet Maso was eager to complete his mission. He was eager to march to a tortuous hell, if that meant he could serve ROOT. Serving ROOT meant serving Danzo, and Danzo was a brilliant man. Maso would be submitting himself to a painful hell before he finally died, if he was lucky enough to die, but he would be fulfilling one of Danzo-sama's orders. He would be furthering Danzo's cause.

"Why don't you and Sakura hang out while I make breakfast? I don't know when the next time you two will be able to see each other." Naruto's soft voice snapped Maso out of his musings.

"That sounds like a good idea, thank you Naruto." The pink-haired celesti replied.

"No problem. Maso, why don't you come and help me make breakfast for our charges?"

"Hey what about me?" A new voice asked.

"So the old perv is awake." Naruto chuckled.

"Don't say it like that! Injured people gotta rest! Am I right Tsunade?" A man with long and spiky white hair protested as he exited the tent the older blonde-haired woman had gotten out of earlier.

"For once in your life… you are." Tsunade sighed.

"For once in my life? Do you know who you're talking to? I am…"

"No Jiraiya. You're not doing that again. I've had to sit through your ridiculous routine far too many times in my life. No more." Tsunade cut Jiraiya off with a roll of her eyes.

"Come on Maso, they're going to be bickering back and forth for a while." Naruto quietly said. He motioned for his "fellow guardian" to follow him.

Seeing no alternative, Maso complied.

"So you found us pretty fast." Naruto noted, trying to make small talk.

"I'm a pretty good tracker, and I was lucky to be in the area when I received this task."

"You were in the area? What was a guardian without a charge doing out in the world? Shouldn't you have been training?"

Maso mentally cursed himself for his slip up. Guardians didn't just wander the world. They trained in the Guardian Academy until they got their charge. ROOT members on the other hand were entrenched in every corner of the world. He and his team were actually in the area to clean up after Sai and take care of Naruto's body after Sai killed the boy… But that obviously didn't work out.

"Well I was on my way to pick up a different charge, but he was killed two days ago. So I was headed back to the academy when I received my order making me Ino Yamanaka's charge." Maso smoothly lied.

"Your charge died before you got there?" Naruto frowned. "I'm sorry, that must be tough. Do you know who is responsible?"

"No, but I'm not thinking about it anymore. All of my thoughts are now dedicated to protecting my new charge."

"That's probably wise." Naruto admitted as he unsealed a scroll that conveniently had everything he needed to make a large breakfast sealed in it.

"You know… I don't actually need your help to make breakfast. But you probably figured that out, didn't you?"

"Of course." Maso replied, albeit a little awkwardly. That was an abrupt change in conversation.

"I wanted to get you alone Maso, because I need to give you a warning."

"Oh?" Maso mentally swore. Did this kid figure out what he was really up to? He tried to think of anything he had done that could have tipped Naruto off… But he had been flawless in his execution so far. He hadn't made any mistakes.

"I knew Ino's last charge. I used to think he was a giant asshole, but I started viewing him as my friend near the end. He gave his life to protect not just Ino, but Sakura too. I owe him a lot, and I will repay him as best I can. So listen up, because I'm only going to warn you once… If you fail to protect Ino and let Sai's sacrifice be in vain, I will hunt you down and kill you." Naruto warned in an icy voice.

The look on his face was enough to give Maso the chills. Gone was the idiotic boy he had just seen moments earlier, and in that boy's place was this cold killer. The transformation that took place over Naruto was incredible.

"Nothing is going to happen to my charge under my watch." Maso assured. "So no need to worry."

"Good." Naruto grinned. "She's a good girl. But more importantly, she's important to Sakura, which makes her important to me."

"I understand. You have my word that I will not let anything happen to her." Maso lied with a disarming grin. He had every intention of breaking that promise as soon as he was out of Naruto's sight.

* * *

"So did Sai and your second guardian get to you this quickly?" Sakura asked, breaking the companionable silence that had settled between her and Ino.

"Nope. My second guardian and Sai were both dispatched from the Guardian Academy. It took them a couple of days to get to me. This Maso must be pretty impressive if he was able to get to us so quickly."

"Must be." Sakura tried to smile… but it was hard to smile when your best friend, who you had been reunited with for the first time in two years, was about to leave again and neither of you had a clue as to when you would see each other again…

"You know Sakura… I'm proud of you." Ino seemingly switched topics. "When I left Konoha you were so unsure of yourself. I mean… you were getting better, but you were still self-conscious about your looks, and your confidence in yourself still needed work. You've come a long way since then, and I'm grateful for that."

"Thanks Ino, but why are you grateful?" Sakura asked, a look of confusion temporarily replaced the look of sadness that had been etched onto her face.

"I feel more like myself than I have since Asuma died, and that's all thanks to you. You managed to convince me that a guardian is more than a sacrifice. It's going to hurt more when Maso dies, but I'm glad I'm going to treat him as a person until that day arrives. So thank you Sakura, thank you for being a determined idiot. Your determination has inspired me."

"Hey, I'm not an idiot!" Sakura huffed.

"You insist you're going to keep a guardian alive for the rest of your life; you're an idiot." Ino teased.

"Well I am going to!"

"I know you are." Ino grinned at her best friend. Despite Sakura's growth over the past couple of years, she was still so easy to tease. "But seriously Sakura… thank you."

"Anytime Ino."

"Well now that the thank you is taken care of, we need to get the next important piece of business figured out." Ino grinned, switching the topic yet again.

"And what is that?"

"We need to figure out how we're going to keep in touch! Don't think for a second that I've given up maid of honor duties just because we're both celesti!"

"Maid of honor?" Sakura sputtered. "Ino, Naruto and I haven't been dating for that long!"

"And yet you two have already both admitted you're in love. With how fast you two moved with your relationship I expect you to be getting married in a couple of weeks."

"We did not move that fast!" Sakura blushed. She knew that was a lie. She and Naruto had barely known each other for a month, yet they were already in a committed relationship. They both had already declared that neither would let anything take the other from them.

"Please! It takes an average couple at least six months to get where you two are, often longer." Ino teased.

"I… Naruto… we're not getting married anytime soon ok!" Sakura tried to come up with a better comeback than that, but that was the best she could do.

"Oh of course." Ino chuckled. Sakura really was still so easy to tease. "So how are we going to keep in contact so you can tell me when the wedding is?"

"Keep it up Ino and you won't be invited!" Sakura countered. Her entire face was flushed pink with embarrassment. So maybe her and Naruto did move quickly, what point was there in taking it slow when they both knew what they wanted?

"You try to pull that on me, Sakura Haruno, and I'll make you regret it! Super-powered-guardian husband or not, I'll kick your ass!"

"Bring it piggy." Sakura stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Oh I will forehead!" Ino countered with a cheeky grin. "So how are we going to keep in touch, so I can come to your wedding in a month?"

"WE ARE NOT GETTING MARRIED IN A MONTH INO!" Sakura yelled in embarrassment.

"Still a serious question Sakura." Ino countered, her grin still in place.

"Well… I don't know actually. We can ask Naruto, I'm sure he has some kind of jutsu or something he knows that we could use."

"I hope he does. I'm going to be so pissed if I miss your wedding."

"You have at least a year or two until you have to worry about that Ino."

"A year or two? So you've already thought about?" Ino pressed.

"I… err… well you see…" Sakura stammered. So maybe she had thought about marriage with Naruto a little… and yes it was definitely too early to be thinking about that sort of stuff. But she fell in love at first sight! It wasn't her fault if her mind naturally jumped forward a little further than it probably should from time to time…

"Relax Sakura, I'm just teasing you. I have to get my fill of Sakura teasing in now while I still can." Ino chuckled at her friend's embarrassed reply.

"Just don't tell Naruto ok? He was dead set against a relationship with me when we first met, and now that I finally got him, I don't want to scare him away with crazy thoughts of marriage. And I don't want him knowing that I'm thinking about what marriage with him will be like, because then he'll think I want to get married… Which I don't yet. I'm not ready for that, even though I plan on spending the rest of my life with Naruto. We've only known each other for a month, it would be beyond crazy for us to talk about marriage right now. I just…"

"Relaaax Sakura." Ino grinned, cutting off her rambling friend. "I'm not going to tell your guardian that you're already planning out your guys' wedding."

"I never said anything about planning a wedding." Sakura huffed.

"Of course, of course." Ino patted Sakura on the head with a teasing smile, and the two fell into a companionable silence again. Except this time, both were smiling.

"I wish we could just reach our destinies right now you know?" Ino said, again breaking the silence. "I miss this… hanging out with you all the time. It's nice to have friends."

"I've only been a celesti for a month, but I already get what you mean. I mean, I've missed you for the past two years… But I miss my family so much that it hurts sometimes. I don't know how I would handle it all if it weren't for Naruto."

"You're lucky." Ino sighed. "To have a friend always with you."

"I am." Sakura agreed. "But you have a chance to have one now too. Maso seems like a nice enough guy."

"Time will tell I guess." Ino said.

"Breakfast is going to be ready in ten minutes Sakura, Ino!" Naruto called over to them.

"Well, I should start getting my stuff packed up I suppose." Ino sighed. "Wanna help?"

"You know I do." Sakura said with a roll of her eyes. "Nothing screams fun like helping someone pack their stuff up."

"Oh shut up." Ino chuckled.

* * *

To say that Danzo was furious right now would be an understatement. He stood in a dimly lit room, surrounded by some of his ROOT members.

"When I get my hands on Tenzo I am going to drag his death out. By the time I take his life he will have been begging me for hours to just kill him!" Danzo seethed.

"I'm sorry Danzo-sama. We should've acted sooner." One of his ROOT members apologized.

"There was nothing you could do. ROOT acted according to plan the second I gave the order. Hiruzen and Tenzo were just one step ahead of us."

"What will we do now Danzo-sama? This was a key strategy to Operation Phoenix." Torune asked.

"Just because we can't distract the Academy Guards with defending the students from our attacks doesn't mean that Operation Phoenix will not work. It just changes the way we go about things now." Danzo replied.

"Our original plan was to target the academy students, which would force the academy guards to defend them, and leave the guards distracted, making them more vulnerable to our attacks. We were then going to strike from the shadows swiftly and take out all of the guards who were defending the children. But they moved quicker than us. They've gotten the children to safety. All of their attention will be focused solely on ROOT."

Danzo walked over to the window in the room, and opened the blind to allow light to flood into the room.

"During ROOT's entire existence, we've operated from the shadows. But now that Hiruzen and his forces are focused solely on ROOT, they will not leave many shadows for us to strike from. So now is the time for ROOT to step into the light. We are the superior force to Hiruzen and his academy guards. We will use our superior training to crush the Guardian Order and burn it to the ground. Then we will establish an order that will always choose to do what is necessary for the good of the world. A new order that will never shy away from anything because it might be unethical. We will create a new supreme order that will protect this world with an iron fist!"

The surrounding ROOT member's nodded their heads in excitement at Danzo's words.

"Hiruzen wants a fight… He's got a fight. Today ROOT comes out from hiding, today ROOT shows its true might! It's time to end this pathetic excuse of an order!"

Had Danzo trained his subordinates to show emotion, there probably would have been cheering at his words. But he had removed all traces of humanity from his ROOT members. They were tools that existed to be used to protect the world. They had no use for emotions. They were what all guardians should be. They were the perfect soldiers.

Hiruzen and the rest of those fools on the guardian council were too soft to properly defend this world. They didn't stand a chance against his ROOT army.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, all of the students have been safely hidden. We can confirm that we moved quicker than ROOT, no casualties were suffered." A guard reported to Hiruzen.

"Good work. What do we know of ROOT's movements now?"

"They don't appear to be launching any sort of attack yet. We have nothing else to report."

"I see… What are your thoughts on this Tenzo?"

"Danzo-sama is a very meticulous planner. He's not used to his plans not going as expected, and while he is more than capable of effectively altering his plan on the go, I'm sure this caught him off guard. He's likely regrouping and preparing a new plan of attack."

"And what do you think that plan will be?"

"Honestly Hokage-sama, I'm not entirely sure. ROOT fights dirty, and they fight from the shadows. But we've taken their main avenue to fight dirty from them, and there aren't many shadows for them to fight from inside of the Guardian Academy. We know the Academy just as well as they do."

"Then that only leaves Danzo with the option to fight us head on." Hiruzen sighed. He knew that a direct confrontation with Danzo and his ROOT forces would be bloody… a lot of good men and women would lose their lives. But Danzo wasn't leaving him with any other was either kill or be killed.

He wondered how his predecessors dealt with the welling guilt he was feeling at the prospect of sending many of his guards to their deaths. This was the first full out civil war in the history of the Guardian Order, but it wasn't the Guardian Order's first war.

He couldn't help but reflect on the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages, two great men who had profound impacts on his life.

Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage, was arguably the most powerful man to ever serve as a member of the Guardian Council, and probably even the entire Guardian Order. During his time, a powerful group decided it would be a better idea to destroy the celesti's shield first before taking the celesti themselves out. So the group waged an all out war on the Guardian Order itself. It was the very first time any group had focused solely on the guardians since their creation.

The Guardian Council at the time instantly created the temporary position of Hokage, for they had complete faith in Hashirama's strength and wisdom. It was rumored that it only took that guardian council 30 seconds to create the Hokage title and name Hashirama the Shodai Hokage, but Hiruzen could neither confirm or deny that rumor. He was just a young boy when that happened, he was barely even familiar with the Guardian Order at that time. Hashirama led the Guardian forces to victory in the war, and the deciding battle was held in Hiruzen's own village.

The battle came so swiftly, that Hiruzen, his family and the rest of the villagers didn't have time to flee. The best they could do was hide in their houses and pray for the best. He would never forget peeking out a window and watching as the man he would later learn was Hashirama Senju, doing battle with a man with long black hair and strange red eyes.

Just when it looked like Hashirama and his forces would fall, a beautiful woman with red hair pulled up into two buns on the top of her head appeared in front of Hashirama, glowing with pure energy. The sheer brightness of the energy radiating off of her forced Hiruzen to shield his eyes.

One second, the black-haired man with strange red eyes seemed to be gaining the upper hand, the next second the beautiful woman appeared and the sound of a large explosion sounded off in the village. When Hiruzen looked out of his window again, there were no signs of an explosion, but there was also no sign of that dark-haired man or his army.

Instead Hashirama was supporting the beautiful red-haired woman who was breathing heavily with a smile on her face.

Hiruzen would later learn that the woman who saved his village was a celesti. He became fascinated with the celesti and the guardian order after that, and eventually left his family and village to join the guardians.

By the time Hiruzen met the legendary Shodai Hokage, he had already given up his title as he promised the council he would, and he was just another revered member of the Guardian Council. Hiruzen was awed by the man and aspired to be like him. He trained day and night to become strong, but also trained his mind.

His training, both physical and mental, paid off when Hashirama approached him and offered to train Hiruzen to be his eventual successor on the council, and Hiruzen happily accepted.

The second time the Guardian Order needed a Hokage arrived far sooner than anyone would have expected. This war was only waged by one terrifying man and an army of strange and grotesque clones.

The war began with the murder of Hashirama Senju. No one ever saw it coming, Hashirama was so powerful that people thought of him as invincible. But a man appeared wearing an orange mask with a strange spiral pattern and one eye hole. No one would ever know for sure how Hashirama was defeated, but nearby scouts swore they heard the feral roar of a beast that filled their entire bodies with a sense of dread.

Hashirama's mangled body was delivered to the Guardian Council with a simple note that read, "Join with me or die."

At this time, Hashimara's brother, Tobirama, was also a member of the Guardian Council and demanded to be allowed to hunt his brother's killer down. Hiruzen remembered that meeting, it was terrible. Everyone was shocked and devastated at Hashirama's death, and Tobirama had been in such anguish…

But the council decided that seeking revenge was not the best course of action to protect the celesti, so they refused to enter war and instead increased their defenses to be alert for any sign of attack. In that terrible meeting, the Council acknowledged that Hashirama had been training Hiruzen to be his successor, and officially gave him the open seat on the council left vacant by Hashirama.

The attack that the entire council (save Tobirama) hoped would never come, came. It arrived on one dark and rainy night. A group of pale white clones whose bodies were… unnatural to say the least, appeared out of nowhere and started attacking the Guardian Academy.

That first attack was brutal, and the Guardian Academy suffered heavy casualties. The council held an impromptu meeting, and at the begging of Tobirama, made him the Nidame Hokage. Tobirama proved to be strong and wise like his brother and led a furious counter attack to repel the strange clones. Hiruzen was proud to say he was by Tobirama's side during that fight.

After the Guardians survived the initial attack, a long and drawn out war ensued. Over the course of the next two years, Tobirama directed Guardian forces against the strange pale clones of the masked man. He and Hiruzen also became closer, and Tobirama took Hiruzen under his wing. Over those two years he taught Hiruzen as much, if not more than his brother before him.

Throughout the entire war, the masked man never directly appeared on a battlefield, despite Tobirama's constant challenges each time he defeated the clone forces. But that didn't last forever… the fateful day finally arrived when the masked man appeared on the battlefield.

Tobirama and Hiruzen had somehow become isolated from the rest of the Guardian forces, and the masked man had set up some sort of barrier to prevent help from arriving. It was just Tobirama and Hiruzen versus Hashirama's killer.

A fight that he would never be able to forget ensued that saw both Tobirama and Hiruzen throwing everything they had at the masked man, yet none of their attacks seemed to work. The man almost seemed to be toying with them. Hiruzen closed his eyes as the memory flashed through his mind once again…

_FLASHBACK_

"_You're not like us…" Tobirama gasped out to the masked man._

"_What do you mean? Surely I don't know what you're talking about." The man countered in a mocking tone. _

"_You know what I mean…" Tobirama turned to Hiruzen with a small smile on his face. " Hiruzen… be strong. You have been trained by both my brother and me; I'm counting on you to carry on our wills."_

"_What do you mean Tobirama-sensei?" Hiruzen asked. He didn't want to acknowledge the bad feeling that he had in his gut._

"_You've got a fire in you, just like me and Hashirama. Never let it burn out, and pass it on to the next generation, as we passed ours on to you."_

"_Why are you saying this Tobirama-sensei…"_

"_What are guardians Hiruzen?"_

"_The world's shield?"_

"_That is correct, very good." Tobirama smiled. "That man… he's different. He's not a celesti, but he's not a guardian either. He's something else that neither you, I nor any guardian could ever hope to defeat. Maybe a celesti can stand against this man one day, but I'm not going to take that chance."_

"_Tobirama-sensei…"_

"_I hope you never have to be Hokage Hiruzen. The burden is one that I would wish on no man, but if the Guardian Order ever needs to call upon a Hokage again in your lifetime, I hope they call on you."_

"_You're talking awfully big for a mere guardian." The masked man spoke up. "You're speaking as if you think you can stop me."_

"_I don't think I can stop you, I know I can." Tobirama smiled. "Goodbye Hiruzen."_

"_No, stop! We can defeat him! I can summon Enma again, we can…"_

"_We are not on his level." Tobirama interrupted, the small smile was yet to leave his face. He looked strangely at piece._

"_Jikukan Kekkai!" Tobirama yelled, causing Hiruzen's eyes to widen. His master had only told him about this technique that he was developing in theory. Suddenly a sort of portal appeared in front of him and sucked him into it, when it spit him out of it, he was outside of the barrier that was made by the masked man._

"_Good… It worked." Tobirama grinned. "See you around… Hiruzen." He flashed through a series of complicated hand signs as Hiruzen looked on in horror._

"_So you saved that boy, it doesn't matter. I'll just kill him after I kill you." The masked man said dismissively._

"_You can kill me, but you'll kill me in a different time and dimension where you'll be trapped forever! Kinjutsu: Jiku no Uzu!"_

"_Space time vortex…" The masked man muttered. Hiruzen yelled out for his second sensei, but he doubted Tobirama heard him. A twister of contorted, purple chakra erupted around Tobirama and engulfed the masked man._

_FLASH IN_

Then, just as quickly as the purple twister came, it was gone. The masked man and the Nidaime Hokage were nowhere to be found, it was as if they vanished from the face of the Earth itself…

The Nidaime's sacrifice seemingly took care of the masked man and the war ended. Life then went on for the Guardian Order. The world seemed to take note of the results of the first two groups to ever attack the Guardian Order, as no one else attempted to directly attack the order since. Itachi's Akatsuki group was actually the first to show signs of actively considering war with the Guardian Order since that second war.

But now the Order was being attacked by itself, and Hiruzen was fulfilling his second master's wish. He was the one who was called on to be the Sandaime Hokage. He had learned so much from Hashirama and Tobirama, but he found himself wishing he would've asked them how they handled the guilt that came with sending soldiers to their deaths.

"Hokage-sama, are you alright?" Tenzo asked, Hiruzen had been strangely silent after Tenzo asked his last question.

"Hmm? Oh yes, fine. I was just walking down memory lane." Hiruzen smiled. "Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to know what our next move will be."

"Simple." Hiruzen took a deep breath. He knew what his two masters would do in his situation. They would stand strong; they would make the decision that needed to be made. They would let their flames burn brightly against the coming darkness. Hiruzen Sarutobi was trained by both Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, two of the most powerful men to ever be a part of the guardian order. He had inherited their wills, and the bright flames they carried within them. It was time for him to honor their legacy.

"We fight Danzo with everything we have. If this war is what he wants, then it is what he'll get. But no matter what happens, we cannot and will not lose. This war will be terrible, but the Guardian Order will come out on top. Send scouts out to determine weaknesses in Danzo's forces, we are going to deliver the first blow."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" Tenzo said. The Hokage's words filled him, and all the guards gathered around him with energy and a determination unlike any they had ever felt before. Tenzo quickly set off to relay the Sandaime Hokage's orders.

* * *

To both Sakura and Ino's dismay, breakfast, while delicious, was relatively short. Neither had wanted it to end, because neither wanted to say goodbye to the other, even though they both knew quite well that it was necessary. It came and went far too quickly.

Now Sakura and Ino were facing each other at the edge of the temporary camp that Naruto had set up. Ino's new guardian, Maso, had her stuff slung over his shoulder and Sakura could clearly tell he was ready to leave.

"Well… I guess this is it for now Sakura." Ino finally spoke up.

"Yeah… Oh wait, Naruto!"

"What is it Sakura?"

"We need your help with something, is there a way for Ino and I to keep in contact?"

"Well…" Naruto started to answer.

"Absolutely not." Maso answered for him. "Your enemies could trace any letters you send back and forth."

"I can summon toads, they make good messengers." Naruto offered.

"You and I both know it isn't worth the risk."

"Oh come on, you're both strong. And how much of a risk would it really be for a bunch of toads to deliver some letters back and forth every now and then?" Ino asked.

"If any of your enemies ever caught onto the plan then they could follow the toads right to you. You know it's too risky Naruto."

"You're right." Naruto admitted with an apologetic look on his face.

"That sucks…" Sakura sighed.

"Tell me about it." Ino agreed. "Well I guess I won't…"

"Wait, I got it!" Naruto interrupted with a giant grin. He could tell how sad Sakura was to have to say goodbye to Ino, but his plan would alleviate some of the sorrow his beautiful charge would inevitably feel after saying goodbye to her best friend.

Naruto reached into his pack and withdrew one of his special three-pronged kunai.

"Here you go Ino, keep this on you at all times." Sakura's eyes lit up in understanding when she saw the kunai and she flashed Naruto a grateful smile.

"Umm… ok. What is it?" Ino asked.

"I fail to see how some strange kunai is going to help." Maso said. "Its three prongs actually make it worse for battle, it's more brittle and easier to break."

"True." Naruto grinned. "But that isn't for battle… Well not exactly anyways."

"Ino, you've seen Naruto use the hirashin already right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, you about gave me a heart attack with that damn technique!"

"Well you better make sure you always have a strong heart." Sakura grinned.

"What are you talking about?"

"The hirashin is a technique that was developed by my father. But in order for him to use it, he had to use hand seals and these kunais. While I've developed the technique past that, my hirashin is still quicker and uses a lot less chakra when I use these kunais for it. So as long as you have that kunai, Sakura and I will be able to flash to you at any time, no matter where you are in the world. And I'm the only person in the world who knows the hirashin technique, so you will never have to worry about any of your enemies using that kunai to reach you."

"That's awesome!" Ino cheered.

"I don't know if this is a good idea…" Maso interjected while inwardly swearing up a storm. He had faith that Naruto would be dead soon, courtesy of his old squad, but he still didn't like the idea of Naruto being able to flash to him and his "charge" in an instant.

"What do you mean? This is the perfect idea. There are virtually no risks to either of our celesti, and it will allow two best friends to keep in touch. This will help make both your and my celesti happier, and isn't that part of our job? To protect their happiness?"

"To a degree, it's more important that we protect their lives." Maso countered.

"And this doesn't put their lives at risk in the slightest." Naruto countered with a raised eyebrow. "I don't really understand why you seem to have a problem with it."

"I guess I'm just overly cautious." Maso smiled disarmingly. He could see that Naruto was getting suspicious, and he couldn't afford that. He would have to take the kunai from Ino when she was asleep.

"Forget I ever said anything, a very good solution to this problem Naruto."

"Thanks, I think so too." Naruto grinned.

"Yes, well it's time for us to go Ino-sama. We have a lot of ground to cover."

"Ok. Well it was nice meeting you Tsunade, Jiraiya."

"Same to you. Good luck reaching your destiny." Tsunade smiled.

"Agreed, good luck." Jiraiya chimed in.

"I'll see you again soon Sakura?" Ino asked with a hopeful look on her face, while gripping the kunai Naruto gave her like it was some sort of lifeline.

"Definitely." Sakura grinned.

Ino returned her friend's grin and then turned to her guardian. "Well, lead the way Maso. You're the one who knows where you're going here."

"Right. It was nice meeting you all, thank you for the breakfast."

"No problem. Just remember what I told you." Naruto cheerily replied, although beneath the cheery look on his face was an icy glare of warning.

"Right right. Well, see you around. Follow me Ino-sama." Maso still couldn't get over how downright intimidating Naruto could be when he wanted...

"Ino, I already told you to just call me Ino ok? Ino-sama sounds weird." Ino groaned.

"Of course Ino." As Maso led his "charge" away from the temporary camp he couldn't help but grin. That took a little longer than he would have liked, but everything went according to plan. Now that he had secured Ino, his old team was free to follow through with Danzo's will and destroy Naruto.

* * *

"Taicho, Terai has extracted Ino Yamanaka from Naruto. We are free to make our move." One masked man said to another, as the two hid in the cover of the trees.

"Terai took longer than expected… But it makes no difference. Tell the squad that we're moving out."

The captain leaped out of the tree and started running towards the position where Naruto had camped. He knew his squad would be in place when he attacked, and he knew they would successfully complete their part of the plan.

Soon, the captain and his squad will have dealt with another threat to Danzo-sama. Soon they would have purged the world of one more threat to ROOT.

* * *

**_Jutsu List:__  
_Jikukan Kekkai - Space Time Barrier **: While in the actual manga, this technique was developed by Minato and not the Second Hokage, in this world, the Tobirama developed a different version of it first that could be used to transport not just attacks, but people as well. Although the first time he used it was when he used it to save Hiruzen, thus why he was so relieved when it worked as he thought it would.

**Jiku no Uzu - Space Time Vortex **: A space time technique that creates a vortex of chakra that envelopes the user and his or her target. The Vortex then transports the user and his target to a completely random dimension and time, that not even the user can predict.

* * *

Alright! Well that's a wrap for that chapter. A bit of an information overload chapter, but it needed to be done. I kinda set this chapter up for more fighting with the end of last chapter, but I wanted to set the stage and give my riders a little more insight into the minds of the stage's players. I know the history lesson of the first two Hokages seems kind of random, but there's a reason for it... Unfortunately for you, the reader, you won't get to see that reason for quite some time as that won't be revealed until much later in the story. But it's not just filler, I swear! -_-

Lots of info to process in this chapter, different hints to the reasoning behind all the bad guys grand plans, and of course the stage is now set for "some" fighting next chapter.

One thing- I purposefully did not describe Maso's (Terai) appearance at all, because we couldn't really pull anything about his appearance in the manga. So I decided to leave his appearance up to the imagination of his readers, just like Kishi sorta did. If you are thinking to yourself, "who the hell is Terai?" Don't feel bad. He's a very obscure character that I pulled out of the ROOT hat. We saw him once in the manga with Danzo telling him to find Kabuto before Anko.

Another random note- I was reading through the story again and realized that, while I took my time getting Naruto and Sakura together chapter wise (they decided to be a couple around what, chapter 13?), in story time frame wise they REALLY moved quickly. Saying they've known each other for a month is being a little generous to be honest. So I had Ino poke fun at it for me =P

Anywho... Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please do review!


	18. The Old-Fashioned Way

We were closing in on two years since I last updated this story. It's not dead, and the next update won't take a freaking year to get up! Seeing as it's been a while, and this is an AU universe, I encourage you all to read through the earlier parts of this story to bring you back up to speed!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed since last time: Darious Frost, saveme57, Konoha's Crimson Fox, mermaidangel123, Inner Self, RaiOokami, quiter11111, Those-carrots, water Type master, smile, Guest, TMariee, Joshin, AquaticSilver, ProphecyEngineAka Veeperz, meerastark

Now let's stop dilly-dallying. I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich, and would have all the free time in the world to ensure it doesn't take me almost two years to update one story! Review responses will follow the chapter from here on out.

Please do enjoy, _Guardian - _Chapter 18: The Old-Fashioned Way

* * *

Naruto ducked underneath a barrage of shuriken and quickly twisted to his side to dodge a swipe from the tanto of the masked man who had hoped to take him out with the aforementioned shrurikens. He kicked the man in the gut and followed it up with a knee to the face to knock the man to the ground. Naruto withdrew a kunai so he could take this man out and improve his odds against his foes, but a powerful stream of water forced Naruto to leap a few feet behind him.

_So the fourth one's a water user…_ Naruto thought to himself.

This was not an ideal time for him to be fighting against multiple foes at once. His chakra was still acting up from Danzo's poison, and he had three people to protect… but this was part of a guardian's life. There was one positive to his current situation however; these masked men seemed to be after _him_ and not any of the people he was protecting.

With his chakra fluctuating as it was, it was dangerous for him to enter sage mode right now. He didn't know who any of these men were, but they weren't interested in talking. He threw down a smoke bomb and burrowed underground. He needed some way to get the upper hand on these guys. He thought back to when they first attacked, trying to think of any small detail he or his clones may have caught that he could use to his advantage.

_FLASHBACK - A few minutes earlier_

_Naruto started packing up the food as Sakura watched Ino and her new guardian disappear from the horizon line. He felt bad for Sakura. She was happy with him, he didn't doubt that for a second, but she seemed like a very social girl. While he doubted she would openly admit it, Naruto could tell that she was homesick. It had to really suck for her to get to spend a couple of days with her best friend from home only to say goodbye again._

"_We'll visit Ino again once we get Tsunade and Jiraiya to the Guardian Academy, ok Sakura?"_

_Sakura smiled over her shoulder at her guardian. "I'd like that Naruto, thanks."_

"_Boss! Incoming!" One of Naruto's clones yelled. Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly felt four chakra signatures rapidly approaching him._

"_Shit! Sakura, go get in the tent with Tsunade! One, Two, get your asses down here! You're protecting everyone!"_

"_What about…"_

"_Now's not the time for questions Sakura. I'll be fine!"_

_Tsunade and Jiraiya motioned for Sakura to follow them, and the celesti did as commanded. Naruto felt a little better when two of his clones stood protectively around the tent._

"_You guys found us pretty fast!" Naruto yelled out. He looked around and four masked men were approaching him from each direction._

"_But you made a mistake in coming here! I'm going to kick all your asses!"_

_He flickered in front of the one approaching him head on._

"_EAT THIS! RASENGAN!" Naruto formed a rasengan in his hand, intent on taking out this masked man before he could become a problem. Sadly, it was not meant to be. Naruto's chakra fluctuations messed up his balance and the rasengan dissipated before it could hit his mark._

_The man said nothing, but he did pull out a tanto he used to take a stab at Naruto's neck with. The guardian ducked under the stab and leaped backwards just as a compressed wave of air shot right through where he was standing._

"_Who the hell are you guys?"_

_Naruto felt movement behind him and did a backflip just as a taichi, which seemed to be secreting acid of all things, swung just under his feet. Naruto caught the wielder in the head with a quick jab as his body completed its flip. _

"_Not very talkative? No matter! Rasengan!" Naruto tried to use his rasengan again, this time against the taichi wielder, but it had the same result._

"_Stupid weird poison…" Naruto muttered as he put some distance between himself and the swordsman. So far he knew a little bit about three of his opponents, but had no idea about the fourth one. Hell, he didn't even know where the fourth one went…_

_Naruto glanced over at the masked man he had first attacked and saw that the man had shuriken grasped in his hands._

_FLASH IN_

A twister of air barreled down the hole that Naruto had burrowed himself in, cutting his thinking time off. He burrowed a little out of the way and then shot up out of the ground. So far he seemed to be dealing with a weapon specialist, a swordsman with the ability to coat his sword in acid, a mid-ranged wind jutsu specialist, and a water jutsu specialist who attacked from the distance.

All in all, this wouldn't be the toughest fight of his life if his damn chakra was working normally. Unfortunately, his chakra was fluctuating too much for him to use any of his techniques that required any semblance of chakra control. Not that it mattered. This was definitely a fight he was going to win; losing simply wasn't an option.

Naruto withdrew another kunai so he now had one in each hand. Even without his powerful techniques, he was still strong. Chakra helped his speed, but he was still pretty fast without it. He was just going to have to take care of this the old-fashioned way.

"I'm going to give you assholes one chance to surrender. If you don't take it now, I'm going to kill every single one of you for being a threat to my charge."

The only response Naruto got was the taichi wielder pointing his sword in Naruto's direction.

"Kasei Encho." Acid suddenly extended in the shape of the blade towards Naruto. He weaved to the right, but not before the attack could just graze his arm. He gritted his teeth in pain as the acid burned through his chainmail mesh shirt.

_This is some potent acid…_ _He's making this with his chakra it seems._ Naruto thought to himself as he quickly washed the acid away with a minor water jutsu before it could do any further damage. _He must be able to create this because of some bloodline limit… So I'm facing at least one person with a kekkai genkai… great._

Naruto ducked underneath three shuriken, pivoted on his left foot and took a swipe directly behind him, catching the acid user who was trying to sneak up behind him off guard. To Naruto's disappointment, the acid-user was able to weave to the right so Naruto's kunai _only_ tore throw his left arm. While Naruto was hoping for a killing blow to even the numbers up some, he was satisfied with the hiss of pain that came from his foe.

Naruto lunged forward to take advantage of the acid user's pain, but a water bullet forced him to leap backwards.

"Your arm doesn't look so good!" Naruto taunted, hoping to get some sort of rise out of his opponent. Instead of replying, the acid-user took his taichi in his right hand, now that his left arm was practically useless, and charged Naruto.

Naruto ran forward to meet the acid user's charge. He ducked underneath the first swipe of the taichi and caught the man in the gut with a quick knee. He raised his arm to deliver a killing stab to the acid-user's neck, but his movement was rewarded by three shuriken impacting his right arm. Naruto gritted his teeth and ignored the pain.

"Kasei encho!"

Naruto ducked underneath the extended acid blade and threw his kunai directly his opponent's exposed gut. The acid-user stumbled backwards, surprised. Naruto didn't waste another second and threw his second kunai straight into the man's throat. He fell backwards with a surprised gurgle.

_One down… Only three to go._ Naruto withdrew two more kunai to replace the ones he just used. _There's the weapon user… but where are the wind and water guys?_

As if to answer Naruto's thoughts, a powerful gust of wind knocked Naruto off his feet. He glanced up to see a barrage of shuriken coming down towards him. Without any time to dodge, Naruto deflected as many as he could, but some still embedded themselves in his shoulders.

Having shuriken embedded in his flesh didn't exactly feel great, but he had managed to keep them from hitting his vitals, so Naruto counted himself lucky. He ran towards the tree line where the wind blast came from. As he neared the tree line, a wave of water crashed into him, flooding the ground. He barely managed to remain standing and could only turn his back as more shuriken were launched at him.

He cried out as five shuriken embedded themselves in his back. It was getting more and more difficult to ignore the pain now. He had shuriken sticking out of his back, the back of his right hand, and a few sticking out of his shoulders as well. But he couldn't lose; Sakura, Tsunade and Jiraiya would be screwed if they had to take these guys on.

Gathering his strength, Naruto burst into the tree line. He weaved to dodge more shurikens, but grinned when he spotted the wind user.

"You know, most wind users fight up close and personal! That's what the element is really good for!" Naruto yelled. "So come down here and take me on!"

The wind user did not take Naruto's challenge, instead opting to leap away to put more distance between the two. But Naruto wasn't going to let him get away. He was fast even without the hirashin. He quickly caught up to the wind user and swiped at the man with his kunai. He ducked underneath a water bullet and deflected three shuriken.

Doing so left him open to attack from the man he was currently trying to take out, and Naruto was knocked off his feet as a wind bullet blasted into his body. He cried out when he landed on his back, jamming the shuriken embedded there deeper into him.

He didn't let his pain win however, and he instantly leaped to his feet. Naruto charged the wind user, weaved to the right to dodge another water bullet and lunged forward to stab the wind-user in the chest. Before the wind user could react, Naruto followed his attack up by quickly slashing the man's throat.

His muscles were starting to burn, and he was breathing heavy, but a grin was firmly set on his face. These bastards came at him with four, and he had already taken out two of them. He glanced over at the man who had been kind enough to stick a bunch of shuriken in him.

"You're next bastard!" Naruto ran forward, deflecting his opponent's shuriken. He jumped toward the man, but before he could reach him, a water dragon slammed into him, mercilessly knocking him against a tree which splintered and fell over from the force of the impact. The shuriken that had been embedded in his back were now completely submerged, which felt… unpleasant to say the least.

_This would be so much easier if my chakra wasn't so out of whack…_ Naruto tiredly thought. _It would also help if I could actually find this damn water user…_

Naruto shook his head to clear the cob webs and charged at the enemy he could actually see. His opponent withdrew a tanto and met his charge. The ting of metal clashing against metal rang out through what had been a peaceful campsite not too long ago.

The man's ability with his tanto was impressive, and he managed to force Naruto back with his aggressive strikes, but Naruto had an ace up his sleeve. Just because he couldn't trust his chakra didn't mean he couldn't use it.

His chakra wasn't stable enough to maintain coating his kunai in wind chakra, but it would still work for a short burst. Naruto stabbed his kunai forward and smirked when his opponent raised his tanto to block it. Naruto coated his kunai in wind chakra, causing it to stab through his opponent's tanto like butter where it continued straight through his opponent's mask.

_One more…_ Naruto thought to himself as his opponent's dead corpse fell backwards to the ground.

"Impressive. You're recovering from a poison that attacked your chakra, and yet you were still able to kill my squad." A deep voice called out.

"But not that impressive; they were weak. I was using this mission to test their worth, and they obviously failed. Now that they're out of the picture, I think it's time we finish this fight Naruto."

"Stop hiding if you want to end this fight so badly!"

"Gladly." A voice called directly behind Naruto. He twisted around in surprise to see his final opponent calmly standing before him.

Naruto tensed his muscles and willed himself to ignore the intense pain that was plaguing his body. He had a feeling this guy wasn't all talk…

* * *

Ino couldn't put a finger on it, but she felt extremely uneasy right now. There was no reason to be of course. She was with her new guardian, and he seemed to know what he was doing. She had tried to start conversations with him, but his responses just seemed… fake. She stared at the back of his head in thought. She was probably just feeling uneasy because she had a new guardian. A new sacrifice who would eventually give his life up for hers…

She shook that thought from her mind. Running into Sakura had helped restore a part of her that had quickly been locked away during her short, two years as a hunted celesti. Sakura's view of guardians was certainly the right view. They were incredibly brave and were willing to sacrifice their lives. It was only right for the celesti to treat them like actual people. Most likely, Ino would end up grieving Maso's death, but if he sacrificed himself for her, then he deserved it. Determined, Ino decided to try to strike up some conversation again.

"So Maso, what do you like doing for fun?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Oh come on! Surely there's something!"

"Nope."

"But…"

"Ino, please stop these useless distractions. I must remain completely focused on our surroundings in order to ensure your safety."

Ino let out a frustrated sigh. Maso's lack of willingness to have a conversation certainly wasn't helping her unease at all. She assumed all guardians secretly wanted to be acknowledged. Naruto certainly took a shining to Sakura, and Sai, who was practically a robot, was even intrigued by forming a real bond between a guardian and celesti before he… died.

"Where are we going?" She asked, trying to keep her thoughts away from Sai's sacrifice for now.

"Somewhere safe."

"Yeah? Where?"

"It doesn't matter where Ino. What matters is your safety."

"You're just a barrel of laughs aren't you…" Ino groaned.

"I'm a guardian. We're supposed to focus solely on our charge's protection. So please, let me focus."

Ino let out an annoyed huff. This new guardian didn't seem to be anywhere near as friendly as he was back when he came to pick her up at Naruto and Sakura's camp earlier. If this was before she had met up with Sakura, she wouldn't be annoyed at the guardian's serious attitude. Really, she should feel safe with a guardian so focused on her protection. He seemed to be completely focused on her safety. The chances of a threat slipping past him seemed low.

So why did she have such a bad feeling about all of this?

* * *

Naruto was hunched over, sucking in air. Water dripped from his body, having been hit with so many water jutsus. This water jutsu user would be strong enough to keep him on his toes even if he could rely on his chakra. Now that the man had gotten serious, the water he wielded against Naruto was frigid cold. Pain wracked his body, and his limbs were beginning to feel numb… although he wasn't sure if that was due to the freezing cold water or his body's exhaustion.

"You're already winded? I expected more out of you, Naruto… given your heritage." His opponent said.

"You seem to know a lot about me." Naruto replied. "I don't suppose you care to tell me your name? You're strong. I'd like to know your name before I kill you."

"You're going to kill me?" The man chuckled. "Your legs are wobbling, and you can barely stand. Why don't you just give up? No use prolonging the inevitable."

"Don't underestimate me." Naruto willed his body to ignore the pain, numbness and exhaustion and rushed forward. He took a swipe at the masked man with the kunai in his right hand, but the man ducked underneath it, and quickly ran through some handsigns.

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!"

Naruto leaped into the air and felt the air whoosh beneath his feet as the water bullet zoomed past. He quickly counter-attacked by flinging a kunai at his opponent. The man went to dodge, but wasn't fast enough to escape unscathed, and Naruto's kunai grazed his arm. Pressing his advantage, Naruto rushed his opponent. He feigned a punch to the right, but then quickly shifted his body and caught the man in the side with a quick kick. The kick didn't do a lot of damage, but it temporarily stunned his opponent, providing Naruto the opportunity he needed to finish the fight.

Naruto stabbed his kunai forward, coating it in wind chakra at the last second. The masked man tried to dodge, but his reaction time wasn't quick enough to deal with the extended length of the blade due to Naruto's wind chakra. Naruto's kunai tore straight through the man's right shoulder. The guardian took a swipe at the man's throat with his other kunai, hoping to deal the killing blow, but it wasn't meant to be.

_**TING!**_

The masked man met Naruto's blow with a kunai of his own. With his other hand, the man held his palm towards Naruto.

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!" Naruto's eyes widened as a weakened water bullet blasted into his body, knocking him off his feet.

_He just used a jutsu with only one hand! It was weaker than it would've been with both… But still… this guy really is no joke._ Naruto thought to himself. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a giant dragon made of water barreling down on his position. Naruto's entire body seemed to creak in protest as he forced himself to jump out of the way just before the water dragon crashed down against the earth.

Naruto reached down into his weapons pouch and withdrew another kunai so he was again holding a weapon in each hand. With all the punishment his body had endured in this fight, it was starting to get hard for him to focus. He desperately needed to find a way to end this fight soon, or else he would need to use his sacrificial technique before his body gave out on him.

"You're at your limit." The masked man noted. "You won't last long now."

"Dream…on…" Naruto wheezed out. "You're totally… screwed." _I've gotta do this… I've gotta win for Sakura. I can't use my sacrificial technique yet._ The self-reminder of what was on the line in this fight suddenly gave Naruto a second wind. The exhaustion, pain and rubbery limbs all faded away.

"You were screwed the second you came after me." Naruto continued. "For me, failure is not an option. For me, sacrifice is not an option. The only option I have available to me is to kick your ass! I have someone who's counting on me to protect her and survive, and I refuse to let her down!"

"You're outclassed and outmatched." His opponent countered. "There is nothing you can do to beat me."

With an almost animalistic snarl, Naruto ran at the masked man. He ran faster than he had since he engaged the man one on one, now that his body was once again filled with energy. He tried to sweep the man's legs out from under him, but the man quickly jumped to dodge. But that was fine with Naruto, men were less mobile in the air. He flung a kunai with as much force as he could muster. His opponent tried to dodge it, but there was only so much he could do with his feet off the ground. Naruto grinned as the kunai lodged itself in his opponent's left shoulder.

Naruto leaned back on his haunches and then sprung forward, intending to finish this fight once and for all. He swung at the water user's throat with his remaining kunai, and the man made no effort to dodge. Just as Naruto's kunai was within inches of the man's throat, a weakened water bullet knocked Naruto backwards. Naruto staggered, but managed to stay on his feet. He tensed the muscles in his legs, preparing to spring at his attacker again, but the water user flickered in front of him before he had a chance to act. A powerful elbow to his gut knocked the wind right out of Naruto.

Even worse, that one blow seemed to knock all of the momentum out of his body. He was suddenly very aware that his body was, in fact, extremely sore and tired. He was very aware that he could barely feel his limbs. He was very aware that his lungs were burning for air. He was very aware that… he just might actually lose this fight. Sometimes, determination just wasn't enough.

Naruto looked up and saw his opponent weaving handsigns. Judging by the complexity and amount of the signs, his opponent was intending on finishing this fight with a powerful jutsu. Naruto tried to will his body to move, but he was just too exhausted. His willpower was only enough to get him to stumble forward and drop down to one knee.

"IT'S OVER!" His opponent yelled.

"Suiton…"

"Katon: Endan!" A bullet made of fire streaked across the landscape and singed the masked man. It created a cloud of smoke after connecting that temporarily obscured the water user from view.

Naruto looked over in surprise to see Jiraiya standing in the distance. It would appear the older guardian was not content to wait in the tent with Tsunade and Sakura.

"What are you doing Jiraiya?! You shouldn't be fighting!"

"I'll be fine." Jiraiya replied. "You look like you could use a hand. Now get up so we can finish this guy! There's way too much on the line for us to fail!"

Naruto took a deep breath and forced his shaking body to calm down. Jiraiya was right. Naruto once again reminded himself that neither failure nor sacrifice were an option. He withdrew his final kunai from his pouch and rushed towards the thinning smoke.

"I thought you were too injured to fight." The masked man's voice called from the smoke. "No matter."

A water dragon tore out of the smoke and barreled straight towards Jiraiya. Naruto paused his charge and looked at Jiraiya in panic. There was no way the old man could sustain that kind of hit. He started to run towards Jiraiya, but he knew he wouldn't arrive in time.

"Not a bad water dragon." Jiraiya calmly complimented, holding one hand in front of him as the powerful jutsu neared him. Both Naruto and the water user gasped in surprise when, instead of barreling into Jiraiya, the water dragon harmlessly dissipated the second it neared his outstretched hand.

Naruto wasn't sure what happened, but he wasn't going to waste any time trying to figure it out. He saw a golden opportunity, and he was going to take advantage of it – the masked man was distracted. Naruto pushed all of his strength into his legs and leaped at his opponent with the force of a wild cat. His opponent saw him coming at the last second, and leaped out of the way, but not before Naruto managed to slash a deep gash across his stomach.

"You little shit!" The masked man hissed. He shifted all of his attention to Naruto, intending on killing the exhausted guardian.

"Hari Jizō!"

Blood spattered against the ground. In placing all of his attention on Naruto, the masked man had opened himself up to another attack from Jiraiya. The older guardian had impaled the water user on his spiky, hardened hair.

"You came here to kill me, not the two celesti I'm traveling with… Why?" Naruto asked, hoping to get some information out of this man before he died.

"Go…to…hell."

"After you…" Naruto replied, his eyes hardening. He walked up to the man and slashed his throat, mercifully ending his existence. Jiraiya released his jutsu, and his hair returned to normal.

"How did you... survive that water dragon?" Naruto asked. Now that the fight was over, his body was working hard to remind him that it had gone beyond its limit. He walked towards the older guardian on extremely wobbly legs.

"Seals can be pretty useful." Jiraiya grinned, holding up a small, rectangular piece of paper with some kanjis on it. "This one specifically can completely nullify the chakra of one attack. The only problem with it is that it takes about half of my total chakra to make one. So I can't make too many of them. Luckily, I had a few of these ready though."

"Can you… can you teach me how to make them?" Naruto asked. Those would be very useful to make and give to Sakura.

"Of course! That is, if Tsunade lets me. She might not let me teach you until you've studied up on your geography. And I wouldn't…" Jiraiya suddenly lurched forward and starting coughing. He grabbed his ribs and winced in pain until his fit ended.

"You shouldn't have fought…" Naruto muttered. "You could've died."

"And you probably would have died if I hadn't." Jiraiya countered. "Speaking of…"

Jiraiya turned towards the tent where the two celestis were waiting. Naruto's clones had poofed out of existence during the fight.

"You can come out now! The fight is over."

Sakura came sprinting out of the tent straight towards Naruto. Judging by the look on her face, Naruto guessed that not being able to see the fight did not reduce the amount of worrying she did.

"Naruto!"

"I'm fine Sakura." Naruto lied. He did his best to act strong in front of his charge.

"Liar." Sakura wasn't fooled in the slightest. "You idiot! You can barely stand! Sit down and let me heal you."

"Whatever you say Sakura." Naruto didn't even notice that Sakura gave him a command, because he was all too happy to obey it.

"Jeez Naruto… you really overdid it." Sakura fussed. She picked the shurikens off his right hand and arm, then picked the ones off that were stuck deep in his shoulders. "Holy shit, there's some that have submerged completely into your back!"

"Yeah… they don't feel that great." Naruto muttered.

"You're lucky one didn't paralyze you!" Sakura muttered. "This is going to hurt, but I have to get them out, ok?"

"I'm ready."

Naruto hissed as Sakura stuck her fingers into his open wounds to pull out the shuriken out, one by one. He had never been so relieved when she pulled out the final one.

"Don't pass out on me now. You're really bleeding a lot." Sakura said in a worried tone.

"I won't."

Naruto sighed in relief as Sakura's soothing chakra poured over his body, knitting together flesh that had been torn and sliced open in battle. She went over his body and closed up any open wounds first to stop bleeding. Once his outside was taken care of, she focused on the internal damage.

"Holy crap… It must hurt a lot for you to breathe. You have eight broken ribs."

"That explains it." Naruto mumbled. He closed his eyes as Sakura's healing chakra went to work on his ribs. "You're getting really good at this Sakura-chan."

"Well it helps now that I have a better understanding of how your body works." Sakura replied. It ended up taking her 15 minutes of intensive healing to restore the damage done to his body, but by the time she was finished, Naruto felt good as new (minus the part where his chakra was still fluctuating thanks to the poison).

"You're the best Sakura." Naruto said, smiling at his beautiful charge.

"I'm just glad you're ok now." Sakura replied. She had to use a lot of chakra to heal him, and was now feeling pretty exhausted herself as a result. She leaned against her guardian, thankful that he survived another battle. Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked over at Jiraiya, who had Tsunade fussing over him.

"I almost forgot to ask! Are you ok Jiraiya?" Sakura asked.

"He's fine. He fought from a distance, and he didn't have to move around much since Naruto kept that guy occupied." Tsunade replied, answering for her guardian.

"Pah! I would've been fine either way! As if some weakling like that could hurt the great and gallant Jiraiya!"

Naruto chuckled at the old man's antics. "Hey Jiraiya… thanks. I'm not sure what I would've done if you hadn't gotten involved."

"I'd say we're even kid." Jiraiya smiled. "Considering everything you've done for Tsunade and me, it was the least I could do. Now let's say you and I take a look at those bodies and see if we can figure out who those guys were."

"Good call. Why don't you go hang out with Tsunade, Sakura. You probably don't want to have to look too carefully at this bodies."

"I won't argue with that." Sakura replied. During her short time as a celesti, she had already seen some gruesome things. Hell, she watched Naruto slash a man's throat within minutes of meeting him. But that didn't mean she was a fan of such things. She liked to avoid gory things when she could. Sakura walked over to Tsunade, perfectly content with letting Naruto and Jiraiya be the ones who inspected the bodies.

* * *

_**BOOM!**_

The sound of an explosion rocking a section of the Guardian Academy was all the proof needed that the battle between Danzo's ROOT and the Guardian forces was officially underway. With Tenzo's help, Hiruzun was able to stymie most of Danzo's moves so far. Every one of Danzo's attempts at subterfuge was met and countered. Danzo's forces were more accustomed to fighting in the shadows than his, and it was crucial Hiruzen make sure the fighting remained in the open where his forces could fight on equal ground.

"Hokage-sama! Danzo's forces are attacking the northwest wing!"

"Send reinforcements immediately." Hiruzen replied. "We will give no ground to that traitor."

"Hai!" The solider ran off to rally some troops to go and reinforce the northwest wing.

"Hokage-sama, it appears Danzo is tired of trying to fight in the shadows." Tenzo pointed out.

"Yes Tenzo; the real battle starts now. The first few skirmishes we initiated with Danzo's forces will be nothing compared to these."

To Hiruzen's dismay, his scouts couldn't identify chinks in ROOT's armor. Danzo was proficient in training his forces. He appeared to have plenty of ranged squads, and Hiruzen was already finding out that he had plenty of close-ranged squads.

From the initial reports, many of Danzo's ROOT forces were more disturbing than anyone not involved with them had realized. They were like mindless machines who didn't even acknowledge pain. Tenzo told Hiruzen that Danzo trained his forces to completely ignore pain. Those that were acknowledging the pain on the battlefield would likely be punished severely if they survived.

This is what made them so dangerous. There were already more reports than he could count of a ROOT member receiving a fatal blow, and then calmly using a sacrificial jutsu to take out Order forces. The guards were at a disadvantage there. They were human. If they received a fatal blow, they would stumble back in shock, as is the natural reaction. Not many of them would have the clarity of mind in that situation to calmly use a sacrificial jutsu.

Hiruzen gritted his teeth. What Danzo had done to his ROOT members was unforgivable. What Danzo was doing to the Guardian Order was unforgivable. He should have picked up on the man's true intentions earlier. He shouldn't have let his lifelong friendship with the man cloud his judgment. But that was in the past now. All lives were filled with shoulds, should haves, woulds and would haves. Reflecting on them never did anyone any good.

Danzo's forces were fearsome, but the Guardian forces would not falter. They would find a way to end this war before any of their enemies had a chance to pay a visit while the Guardian Order was distracted…

* * *

"Here we go, found something interesting kid!" Jiraiya called out. Naruto walked over to the elder guardian to find him hunched over the body of the wind-user. Jiraiya had the man's mouth propped open. "Look at his tongue."

Naruto glanced at the man's tongue and saw what appeared to be some kind of seal.

"What is that?"

"It's a sort of suppression seal. It prevents the victim from saying anything the one who places the seal doesn't want him to say. This seal also happens to be a trademark of an old friend of ours."

"An old friend?"

"Danzo. He places these seals on all of his ROOT members. It would appear he sent a squad of his ROOT members to kill you."

"That bastard…" Naruto muttered. "So he found out Sai didn't succeed in killing me and sent an entire squad after me?"

"Looks that way." Jiraiya walked over to the body of the leader of the squad, the water user. He peered closely at the man's body, before touching a patch of skin on the top of the man's wrist. To Naruto's surprise, a seal appeared.

"A hidden storage seal. We might find out a little more by opening this."

"How did you know that was there?"

"When you've studied seals as much as I have, you tend to get good at spotting them, no matter how hidden they are." Jiraiya grinned. "Now let's get this open…"

Jiraiya pressed a finger against the seal, creating a poof of smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal a small scroll, which Jiraiya picked up and read.

"Shit… you're not going to like this kid."

"What? What's wrong?"

"Here, read it."

Naruto took the scroll from the older guardian and quickly swore.

"Shit shit shit!"

"Is your chakra stable enough to use harashin?"

"I don't think so…" Naruto groaned. "But I might have to try it anyways…"

He glanced down at the scroll again.

_Mission objectives: _

_Primary objective – eliminate the guardian, Naruto. Prior to elimination, separate the celesti, Ino Yamanaka from him. _

_Secondary objective – take all the celestis to Orochimaru so he can continue his research._

_-D_

Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the three-pronged kunai he gave Ino. He needed this to work, because she was in serious danger. He couldn't believe he let himself get fooled by Maso. Sai sacrificed his life to protect Naruto and his charge, and how did Naruto repay him? By letting his charge get taken by a ROOT member who intended to hand her over to Orochimaru.

_Please work…_ Naruto mentally prayed.

"Jiraiya… tell Sakura not to worry. I'll be right back."

"Good luck kid."

Naruto nodded, and disappeared in a flash.

* * *

FIN! Let me know your thoughts via that handy review button. I apologize for leaving it at a bit of a cliffhanger, but you won't have to wait two years for this next update! This chapter mostly focused on the fight, and next chapter will focus on Naruto saving Ino... but we'll start seeing more about the Guardian civil war soon! Until next time! -ND

Jutsu List:

Kasei Encho – Caustic Extension: the user uses his sword as a focusing point to channel his chakra, which he then uses to create acid. The user then utilizes the sword's point to help control the acid he's creating and keep it from going everywhere when he extends it outwards. A useful assassination technique. As Naruto thought in the fight, this appears to be related to a kekkai genkai, as acid isn't something that one can so easily form with chakra.

Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu – Water Release: Water Bullet.

Hari Jizō – Ninja art: Needle Jutsu

Review Responses

**Darious Frost:** Itachi is a complex character in the manga, and he's a complex character here. But he certainly does plenty of bad things! As for Jiraiya and Nagato, they would have met while Jiraiya was teaching at the academy. And you and me both with Ino! She doesn't deserve to get experimented on by Orochimaru!

**saveme57**: As you saw with this chapter, though he was fully rested, his chakra was still feeling the aftereffects of Danzo's poison, which gave that ROOT squad a fighting chance! Hopefully Naruto is able to catch up with Maso before it's too late.

**Konoha's Crimson Fox:** Speaking of not updating for a while... *cough* The civil war line took a backseat this chapter, but rest assured. Shit is about to go down!

**mermaidangel123:** Sorry to make you wait so long for it!

**Inner Self:** I can say, with 100 percent certainty, that Sakura has no interest in Itachi whatsoever. She's smitten with Naruto, and he's smitten with her.

**RaiOokami:** He really did go out in a blaze of glory. There wasn't much of a body left to set off like that, nor did he have very many belongings as a guardian.

**quiter11111:** Hola! (I dont' know how to do the upside-down exclamation mark). Thanks for the kind words, and I'm pulling for Ino to make it out of this unscathed too! Naruto's last name is certainly going to be big to this story, but he has to escort everyone to the Academy (where a civil war is currently going on) before he can start digging into it! And Danzo is definitely the worst. Hopefully he gets his...eventually.

**Those-carrots:** =)

**water Type master:** Thanks for the kind words!

**smile:** Thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoy the story!

**Guest:** Thanks for the kind words! I'm partial to the Kaze no Bakuhatsu myself!

**TMariee:** I'm continuing! Glad you enjoy the story.

**Joshin:** Thanks! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**AquaticSilver:** Glad you enjoy the story!

**ProphecyEngineAka Veeperz:** Thanks for the kind words!

**meerastark: **You are actually the one reviewer who I can say that I did in fact update it soon to! Thanks for the kind words, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


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